Item numbers had been featured in Bollywood from as early as the 1930s. Azoorie in the 1930s often performed item numbers; Cuckoo was the next popular item dancer in the late 40s. Her banner year was 1949 when she was featured in over 17 films performing dances. Actress and classical dancer Vyjayanthimala was the one that introduced the classical dance number in Hindi films with her debut film "Bahar" (1951). The mixture of classical plus contemporary was popularized by Vyjayanthimala in films such as "Devdas" (1955), "Amrapali" (1966), "Madhumati" (1958), "Sadhna" (1958), Sunghursh (1968) etc.