10 October is the birthday of Rekha, one of the most iconic and timeless personalities of B Town. In Bollywood, where leading ladies have lamentably short shelf lives, Rekha has been around for a very long time. She reinvented herself to create a graceful, stylish persona that abides to this day. Rekha remains one of the biggest female stars India has seen and she can still give newbies tips on fitness, comportment and styling. On her birthday; 10 October, we take a trip down memory lane to look back at some of her most iconic roles:
One of her first hits was with Randheer Kapoor. Though her co-star in the film soon fell by the wayside as an actor, Rekha succeeded in spite of early negative reactions to her skin tone, poor Hindi speaking skills, being overweight, and her garish get up.
This was a turning point in her career and a movie ahead of its times. Playing a tormented rape survivor, the movie showcased her fine histrionic talent. It also featured a completely transformed Rekha. In Ghar, Rekha is riveting as much for her acting as for being captivatingly beautiful.
The movie starred Dina Pathak, Ashok Kumar and Rakesh Roshan; however Rishikesh Mukherjee’s Khoobsuratbelonged to Rekha. She was funny and irrepressible as she led a household to revolt… and gorgeous!
The film came at a time when she was said to be involved in a real life romance with Amitabh Bachchan, her co-star in the film. The film also pivoted on the theme of an extramarital affair: one of her most intense and memorable roles.
She played a poetess and courtesan in this film; a more graceful, self possessed and stunning parallel would be difficult to find in Hindi films. It is difficult to pick one from the many absolutely masterful compositions this film is littered with. I choose Zindagi jabbhi teri bazm mein because of the gentle romance of the picturisation, the beauty of the lyrics and because Rekha probably never looked this stunning.
Its theme of celebration of physical love made this a film ahead of its time – the quirky humour, the beautiful songs, authentic looking sets and Rishi Kapoor in one of his most unusual roles makes Utsav something of an iconic film.
Ijaazat had a beautifully understated role by the beauteous Rekha; a film that would be called arthouse or parallel cinema. It had an unusual story and some wonderful music.
Rekha continued to play leading lady roles much longer than most other leading women because she picked her roles with care and continued to be something of a style icon who reinvented herself for the times. She is still remembered for films such as Vijeta, Khoon Bhari Maang, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi(1996) and Aastha (1997)
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