Rekha Biography
Rekha , born October 10, 1954, is a National Film Award-winning popular Bollywood actress. She is considered to be the eternal Diva of the Bollywood film industry. Throughout the 1970s till date she has been considered as a Sex Symbol icon, known for her beauty, acting talent and dancing skills. She has acted in over 180 films in her career, taking part both in the Indian mainstream cinema as well as in parallel cinema, having commercial success as an actress, as well as critical acclaim for her strong performances down the years.
Early life
Born in 1954, in Chennai, India, Bhanurekha Ganesan (later known simply as "Rekha") is the daughter of renowned Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and the Telugu actress Pushpavalli. Her father enjoyed phenomenal success and Rekha was to follow in his footsteps.
Rekha's parents were not married, and her father did not acknowledge his paternity during her childhood. It was during the early 1970s, when she was looking for a footing in the Bollywood film industry, that she revealed her origins. Later, at the peak of her career, Rekha told a magazine interviewer that her father's neglect still rankled and that she had ignored his efforts at reconciliation. She has had various unsuccessful relationships with Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan (see below),Vinod Mehra and was briefly married to a businessman Mukesh Aggarwal from Delhi before he committed suicide.
Film career
Rekha appeared as a child actor in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam (1966). Rekha made her debut as heroine in the successful Kannada film Goadalli CID 999 with Dr. Rajkumar in 1969. She had two films released in 1970: the Telugu film Amma Kosam and the Hindi Sawan Bhadon. Sawan Bhadon was a hit and she becomes a star overnight. She got a lot of offers but nothing of substance. Her roles were mostly used to be just of a glamour girl, a typical Hindi movie heroine. She appeared in several successful films, such as Kahani Kismat Ki, Raampur Ka Lakshman, and Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye. Her first serious and performance oriented role came in 1976 when she signed Do Anjaane with Amitabh Bachchan. People noticed her in that and then came Ghar in 1978. She got critical acclaim for her performance as a rape victim and received her first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards ceremony.
She first attained real fame in 1978 with Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, in which she co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan. The movie was the biggest hit of the year and Rekha was set as one of the most popular actresses of these times. She went on to co-star with Amitabh in a number of 1980s hits. She was rumoured to be Amitabh's real-life flame, and that's why the most scandalous of their films together was Silsila (1981), in which she played Amitabh's love interest and Amitabh's real-life wife, Jaya Bhaduri, played his wife. The film-column gossip may have contributed to her success. However, even critics had to admit that she had worked hard to perfect her Hindi and her acting, and that she had transformed herself from a "plump" duckling to a "swan" in the early 1970s. Rekha's credits to this transformation were yoga, a nutritious diet, and a regular, disciplined life.
In 1981, she starred in the critically acclaimed Urdu film Umrao Jaan. The film was considered one of her best performances and she received the National Film Award for Best Actress. Overall, she was known for doing frequently these kinds of roles. Her portrayal of courtesan with a heart of gold in films like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar and Umrao Jaan won her acclaim and she played similar roles in other movies.
The post-Bachchan era marked the turning point where Rekha turned her career professionally. She was willing to work with independent and art film directors, and regularly worked in Parallel Cinema in films like Utsav, Baseraa, Ek Hi Bhool, Jeevan Dhaara and Ijaazat. These films were known for their realistic and realistic topics, and Rekha was praised for her performances. Apart from parallel cinema, Rekha took on other increasingly serious, even adventurous roles; She was among the early actresses to play lead roles in heroine-oriented films, delivering films such as Khubsoorat, Khoon Bhari Maang and Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye; She won Filmfare trophies for her roles in Khubsoorat and Khoon Bhari Maang.
The 1990s saw drop in her success and she almost lost her stardom. She was part of some commercially and critically unsuccessful films, in spite of doing even more challenging roles. Unlike most of the actresses of her generation during the 70s and the 80s like Hema Malini and Raakhee, who began making supporting roles as the mother or the aunty, Rekha was known for still playing the leading roles, at the same time as heroines Madhuri Dixit and Raveena Tandon were notable. The foreign film Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love and the commercially successful Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) were some of her most notable films during the decade. While the former, was known for its controversial issue that Rekha played a Kama Sutra teacher in the film, the latter was a major grosser and earned her several awards in the Best Supporting Actress and the Best Villain categories for her first villain role.
In recent years, she has appeared in relatively few movies, usually as a mother or a widow rather than a glamour queen. She was acting in films such as, Zubeidaa (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and Parineeta (2005). In 2006, she was seen in the sequel to Koi... Mil Gaya i.e Krrish, which was one of the most successful films of the year.
Rekha is thus one of the few hindi film actresses who had the versatility to carry with equal aplomb such diverse roles as that of the brattish schoolgirl of Khubsoorat, the sultry siren of Muqaddar ka Sikandar, the school-maarmish housewife of Ijaazat and classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan. Her diction and dialogue delivery in Hindi and Urdu, languages that were not natural to her, is an example even to native speakers of those tongues. She imbues every role she essayed with a dignity and characterization that makes it difficult to visualize anyone but her in those roles. In doing so, she has carved an indelible name for herself in the annals of Indian cinema.
Personal life
The young Rekha filled the gossip columns with rumours of affairs with actors Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra, Kiran Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan. In 1990 she married Delhi-based businessman Mukesh Aggarwal, who committed suicide in 1991. She was rumored to have married to actor Vinod Mehra in the 1973, but in a 2004 television interview with Simi Garewal she denied being married to him calling him a "well-wisher." Rekha currently lives along with her secretary Farzana in her Bandra home in Mumbai.
Awards
National Film Awards
1982 - National Film Award for Best Actress, Umrao Jaan
Filmfare Awards
1980 - Filmfare Best Actress Award, Khubsoorat
1988 - Filmfare Best Actress Award, Khoon Bhari Maang
1997 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi
2003 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
Star Screen Awards
1997 - Star Screen Award Best Villain, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi
Zee Cine Awards
2006 - Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement
2007 - Forever Diva Award
Bollywood Movie Awards
2004 - Bollywood Movie Award - Best Supporting Actress for Koi Mil Gaya
Other Awards
1988 - BFJA Awards Best Actress, Utsav
2004 - Maha Style Icon of the year
2005 - Sony Golden Glory Award
2006 - Idea Zee F Awards - Fashionable Film Star
2006 - Stardust Awards - Role Model of the year
2006 - Dinanath Mangeshkar Award
2007 - Living Legend in the world of entertainment by FICCI
Selected Filmography
She has acted in more than 180 Hindi films, both in the mainstream as well as in parallel cinema.
Sawan Bhadon (1970) ... Chanda
Rampur Ka Lakshman (1972)
Gora Aur Kala (1972) ... Phoolwa
Dharma (1973)
Kahani Kismat Ki (1973... Rekha
Namak Haraam (1973) ... Shyama
Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye - 1974
Dharam Karam (1975) ... Basanti
Dharmatma (1975) ... Anu
Aakraman (1975)
Do Anjaane (1976) ... Rekha/Sunita Devi
Santan (1976)
Kabeela (1976)
Alaap (1977) ... Radhiya
Khoon Pasina (1977)
Imaan Dharam (1977)
Ganga Ki Saugand (1978) ... Dhaniya
Ghar (1978) ... Aarti Chandra
Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) ... Zohrabai
Prem Bandhan (1979)
Kartavya (1979)
Suhaag (1979) ... Basanti
Mr. Natwarlal (1979)
Jaani Dushman (1979)
Aanchal (1980)
Judaai (1980) ... Gauri
Kali Ghata (1980) ... Rekha/Rashmi
Jal Mahal (1980)
Khubsoorat (1980)
Agreement (1980) ... Mala Mathur
Kalyug ... Supriya (1980)
Silsila (1981) ... Chandni
Umrao Jaan (1981) ... Amiran/Umrao Jaan
Baseraa (1981) ... Poornima "Nima" Kohli
Ek Hi Bhool (1981) ... Sadhana Srivastav
Vijeta (1982) ... Neelima
Jeevan Dhaara (1982) ... Sangeeta Shrivastav
Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye (1983)
Agar Tum Na Hote (1983) ... Mrs. Neena Mehra/Mrs. Radha Bedi
Bindiya Chamkegi (1984) ... Bindiya
Utsav (1984) ... Vasantsena
Faasle (1985) ... Maya
Musafir (1986)
Locket (1986) ... Shalu
Pyar Ki Jeet (1987) ... Soni
Soorma Bhopali (1988) ... (Guest Appearance)
Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) ... Aarti Verma/Jyoti
Ijaazat (1988) ... Sudha
Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988) ... Shalu Mehra
Bhrashtachar (1989) ... Bhavani
Phool Bane Angaray (1991) ... Namrata
Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) ... Maya
Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love (1996) ... Rasa Devi
Qila (1998) ... Yamini
Bulandi (2000) ... Lakshmi
Zubeidaa (2001) ... Maharani Mandira Devi
Lajja (2001) ... Ramdulaari
Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) ... Saritaji
Bhoot (2003) ... Sarita
Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) ... Sonia Mehra
Parineeta (2005) ... Moulin Rouge singer
Krrish (2006) ... Sonia Mehra
Yatra (2007) ... Lajwanti
Bajirao Mastani ... Radha Bai (Announced)
Rekha
Rekha Lifetime Achievement Award
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