Vimi

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title: "Vimi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-deaths", "entertainers-from-jalandhar", "indian-film-actresses", "actresses-in-hindi-cinema", "actresses-in-punjabi-cinema", "20th-century-indian-actresses", "deaths-from-cirrhosis", "alcohol-related-deaths-in-india", "1943-births", "people-from-punjab-province-(british-india)"] description: "Indian actress" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Indian actress ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
image	Vimmi. London. 1968.jpg
caption	Vimi in 1968
name	Vimi
birth_date	1943
death_date
death_place	Mumbai
birth_place	Jalandhar, Punjab
nationality	Indian
known_for	Bollywood films
yearsactive	1967–1974
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| image = Vimmi. London. 1968.jpg | caption = Vimi in 1968 | image_size = | name = Vimi | birth_name = | birth_date = 1943
| death_date = |death_place = Mumbai | birth_place = Jalandhar, Punjab | nationality = Indian | known_for = Bollywood films | yearsactive = 1967–1974

Vimi (1943

Early life and career

Vimi was born as Vimlesh Kaur Wadhavan in a Punjabi Sikh family. She married Shiv Agarwal, an industrialist's son, with whom she had a son and a daughter. It was a love marriage, against the wishes of her family. Due to her age and caste difference, her family opposed this marriage. Music Director Ravi was introduced to her at a party in Calcutta and later invited her and Shiv to Mumbai. He introduced them to B. R. Chopra and that is how Vimi got her first film. Even though her husband initially supported her decision, her parents and relatives were against Vimi joining the film industry.

In 1967, Vimi debuted opposite Sunil Dutt in the B. R. Chopra's Hamraaz. The film was a huge hit. When Sunil Dutt sang to her ("Na Sar Jhuka Ke Jeeyo, Na Muh Chhupake Jeeyo"), the expressions of Vimi were appreciated by the audience. She was known as the most beautiful actress. Her Filmfare photoshoot, in which she wore a stylised swimsuit, made headlines. After the success of Hamraaz, her next film Aabroo was released in 1968, which bombed at the box office. In 1969, Vimi acted in a Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai (starring Prithviraj Kapoor). In 1971, she acted in Patanga opposite Shashi Kapoor, which failed at the box office. After that she was reduced to posing for photoshoots in magazines and soon went into oblivion. Her last film was Krodhi starring Dharmendra, in which she played a small role as the mistress of a smuggler, played by Amrish Puri; the film was released in 1981, more than three years after her death.

In an obituary released after her death, several hostile details were revealed, which included her being physically abused by her husband and their eventual divorce. Following her separation, she had started a textile business in Calcutta but that failed as well, leaving her homeless. She had started a relationship with a film broker called Jolly but he had allegedly sold her into prostitution. Devastated by her professional and personal life, Vimi took refuge in alcohol.

Death

Vimi died on 22 August 1977 from liver disease caused by alcohol consumption in the general ward of the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai. Her body was dishonourably taken to the crematorium in a thela hand cart.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Movies	Role	Notes
1967	Hamraaz	Meena Verma	Debut film
1968	Aabroo	Neena
1969	Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai	Channi	National Award winning Punjabi film
1971	Patanga	Renu
1971	Guddi	Vimi	Cameo
1971	Kahin Aar Kahin Paar	Dancer princess
1973	Kahani Hum Sab Ki
1974	Vachan
1978	Premi Gangaram	Lila Teacher
1981	Krodhi	Madhavan's mistress
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Songs

Songs picturised on her:

• "Tum Agar Saath Dene Ka Wada Karo" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Na Muh Chhupaake Jiyo" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Neele Gagan Ke Tale" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Kisi Pathar Ki Moorat Se" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Aap Se Pyar Hua" - Aabroo (1968)
• "Jinhe Hum Bhulna Chahe" - Aabroo (1968)
• "Thoda Ruk Jayegi To Tera Kya Jayega" - Patanga (1971)

References

References

1. "The untold, tragic tale of 'Humraaz' actress Vimi".
2. "This superstar actress, mother of 2, was forced into prostitution, left abandoned by husband, died penniless at...".
3. (3 February 2024). "This Actress Debuted In BR Chopra's Film, But Faded Into Oblivion And Was Forced Into Prostitution By Lover". [[Times Now]].
4. (15 April 2010). "Hamraaz (1967)". [[The Hindu]].
5. (6 September 2024). "शशि कपूर की हीरोइन, पहली ही फिल्म से बनीं स्टार, प्यार में मिला धोखा, जवानी में ही हुई मौत, नसीब नहीं हुए 4 कंधे". News18 हिंदी.
6. "Pakeezah actress Geeta Kapoor's case, while heartbreaking, is not an isolated one".
7. "Hindi Cinema's Fallen Stars".
8. "Tragic Story Of Famous Actress From Super Stardom To Prostitution, Dead Body Was Taken To Graveyard Via Handcart".
9. (1979). "The Times of India directory and year book including who's who". Bennett, Coleman & Co..
10. (12 May 2020). "Tragic life: Vimi's dead body was pushed in a thela to the cremation ground".
11. "17th National Film Awards (1970)". [[International Film Festival of India]].

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