Probably like journalism, acting is also a strange profession in all sorts of ways. It encourages most ordinary and normal people to do some strange things. This statement would work easily for Rekha - a self-made actress and Bollywood's iconic female star.
She was also an outsider to Bollywood and came up the ladder the hard way despite that originally she did not know Hindi.
About co-star and screen's sensation of her time, Rekha once said -
“When we started working together, we were at a very impressionable stage.
Each one left his or her impression on the other.
I worked with him in 10 films at an early stage of my career, spanning over so many years. How can I not be influenced?”
Old blog on Amitabh Bachchan
October 10th was her birthday. She is now 71-year young and certainly still a heart throb.
By circumstances, Rekha was pulled out of school in the 9th standard and pushed into films as a 14-year-old teenager.
But despite facing all the odds, she went on forger her own path in the film industry. She went on to form iconic on-screen pairing with Amitabh Bachchan.
As a result there were gossips and controversies. But at the end of the day, they were near perfectionists in their respective works.
She also made fantastic chemistry on screen with stars such as Jeetendra,
In an old interaction, Rekha recalled a time when she had nearly 40 films on the floor simultaneously.
“In the late ’70s and early ’80s, I was doing three shifts in Annapoorna Studio. Hyderabad became my home away from home. Don’t ask me how, at one point I had almost up to 40 films on the floor, unreal, no?” she recalled.
She not only supported herself but also became the sole breadwinner for her debt-ridden mother and helped her siblings. After her career in the South didn’t pick up — as many were hesitant to cast the illegitimate child of Gemini Ganesan — Rekha moved to Mumbai, where brothers Kuljeet and Shatrujeet Pal signed her for an eight-film deal.
“ I didn’t understand Hindi. I couldn’t tell if people were being rude or being nice to me. All I wanted to do was go back and play with my dolls,” she told Filmfare.
Rekha admitted that she soon became a ‘mother’ to her own mother and siblings. “I was a breadwinner. I had to grow up overnight and take care of my siblings,” she said.
Though 'Do Shikaari' was the first film she shot for, her first Hindi release was 'Sawan Bhadon' in 1970.
After that, she starred in back-to-back films, with as many as eight to ten releases in a single year.
Rekha is widely considered an "actress par excellence" for her incredible career marked by profound versatility, resilience, and captivating screen presence. Over more than four decades, she has defied expectations and reinvented herself, evolving from a struggling starlet to one of Indian cinema's most acclaimed and versatile artists.
Her performance as a rape victim in Ghar (1978) silenced critics and established her as a serious actress.
She delivered a masterclass in comedy in Khubsoorat (1980),
portrayed a tragic courtesan in the critically acclaimed Umrao Jaan (1981), and commanded the screen in the
revenge drama Khoon Bhari Maang (1988).
Her expressive eyes were magical.
They have immense emotional depth, and poetic grace enabling her to portray complex and female characters.
Over the years, she created a name for herself as a style icon known for her signature look of Kanjeevaram saris, bold kajal, and elegant demeanor.
Some of these were like carefully 'cultivated' personal brand.
Rekha seamlessly transitioned to powerful character roles in the 2000s, receiving praise for her work in films like Zubeidaa (2001), Lajja (2001), and Koi... Mil Gaya (2003).
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