Rekha, actress
The caption below the picture is from The Times of India
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Yasser Usman’s biography
In a new book, author Yasser Usman shows a new side of the Bollywood diva
The kiss in Anjana Safar
The shooting of Anjana Safar was underway in Bombay's Mahboob Studio. Raja Nawathe was the director and cinematographer of the film. In the very first schedule of the film, Kuljeet Pal (the director), Raja and Biswajeet (the lead actor) had hatched a plan, with Rekha as the unsuspecting victim. That day a romantic scene was to be filmed between Rekha and Biswajeet.Every last detail of the strategy had been decided before the shoot. As soon as the director Raj Nawathe said `action', Biswajeet took Rekha in his arms and pressed his lips on hers. Rekha was stunned. This kiss had never been mentioned to her. The camera kept rolling; neither was the director ordering `cut' nor was Biswajeet letting go of her. For all of five minutes, Biswajeet kept kissing Rekha. Unit members were whistling and cheering. Her eyes were tightly shut but they were full of tears.
Recalling the day, Biswajeet referred to the incident as Raja Nawathe's idea. Raja had insisted that he kiss Rekha, not yet fifteen, catching her by surprise. Biswajeet maintained that it was not his f fault, that he was merely working on the director's instructions. `It was not for my enjoyment, but important for the film. Rekha felt betrayed and was f furious,' admitted Biswajeet.
Chappals for the new bride
After getting married in Calcutta, Vinod and Rekha returned to Bombay, and drove straight to Nibbana from the airport. But a storm was waiting to assail them there. Here's what happened that day at the Mehra residence according to a film-maker: As soon as the new bride bent to touch her mother in-law's feet, Kamla Mehra angrily pushed her away . She refused to let Rekha enter her house.She lost her cool and abused and humiliated Rekha, who was standing at the front door. Vinod tried to intervene but Kamla was livid, so angry that at one point she took off her chappal and almost beat up Rekha with it. The poor girl was numb and confused.A crowd started to gather around the flat, and Rekha, stunned, hurt and shook up, started to run towards the lift, her eyes burning with tears. Vinod followed and told her to stay at her house till his mother calmed down.
Drama at Rishi-Neetu shaadi
22 January , 1980. The occasion was Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Sin gh's wedding. Neetu was a close friend of Rekha's. The whole of R K Studio was grandly bedecked. The biggest names of the industry were in attendance, including Amitabh Bachchan, his wife, Jaya, and his parents.The party was in full flow. Amitabh was talking to Manmohan Desai in a corner and Jaya was sitting with her motherin-law, Teji Bachchan, when Rekha made a sensational entry . Dressed in a magnificent white sari, Rekha had a bright red bindi on her forehead. But what caught everyone's eye was the generous dabbing of sindoor in her hair.
The cameras instantly pivoted away from Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, and frenetically photographed Rekha's curious new look. The dull drone of everyone murmuring and whispering filled the evening air; everyone wanted to know: had Rekha married?
According to the Cine Blitz report, after congratulating Rishi and Neetu, Rekha went and stood bang in the mid dle of R K Studio's garden. When had she ever shied away from attention, or controversy? But her eyes kept darting towards Amitabh every other second.
Gathering courage, Rekha took hold of her close friend Snehlata Pandey , the doctor who is credited with introducing Rekha to aerobics and better diets, and went over to where Amitabh was stand ing. All eyes, quite naturally, followed te naturally , followed her. They were seen chatting formally for a few minutes. Ac cording to a report in Stardust, `Jaya tried to keep a stoic front for a long time, but eventually she had to bend her head and let the tears roll down.' A few moments later, Rekha exited the party, leaving be hind a trail of unan swered questions. In a somewhat anticli mactic interview, Rekha later cleared the air: that evening, she had come to the reception straight from a shoot. The sindoor and mangalsutra she was wear ing were part of her get-up for a film, which she had forgotten to remove.
But according to a report pub lished in Movie in June 1982, at a National Awards function, Rekha, who was being honoured with the award for best actress for Umrao Jaan (1981), was asked by then pres ident Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, `Why do you have sindoor in your maang?' Rekha promptly replied into the mike, `In the city I come from, it's fashionable to wear sindoor.'
Edited excerpts from Rekha: The Untold Story with permission from Juggernaut Books
March 2017: rumour about Rekha marrying Sanjay Dutt
OOPS! False rumour of Rekha-Sanjay Dutt’s marriage goes viral|- Mar 6, 2017| The Times of India
In March 2017 a rumour about Bollywood’s 'Ageless Diva' Rekha wearing vermilion (sindoor) for actor Sanjay Dutt went viral on the internet. Apparently, this fake news spread like wildfire although it was absolutely false. Let’s take a look at what actually happened and how did it all started!
Several reports made shocking claims that Rekha was secretly married to Sanjay Dutt and this was the reason the actress always applies vermilion on her forehead.
Reportedly, these details were mentioned in a book on the actress, ‘Rekha- The Untold Story’, written by Yasser Usman, which was published last year.
However, Yasser Usman denied all the reports and slammed it. He said in an interview, “Rekha and Sanjay Dutt were working in a film together, probably Zameen Aasmaan (1984). The rumours of their affair surfaced at that time. In fact, some went on to say that they got married. These rumours became so strong that Sanjay Dutt had to deny the allegations in a magazine. It was an official denial.”
Usman added, “There wasn’t any marriage. This became big only because Dutt had to deny it officially.”
When Rekha had gone to receive the National Award for Umrao Jaan in 1982, she told reporters, “In the city I come from, it is fashionable to wear sindoor.”
The sindoor on Rekha’s forehead has often caused a stir amongst the paparazzi.
Many people are aware that Rekha secretly married to Vinod Mehra in Calcutta. Although, Vinod’s mother was furious at this decision and didn’t allow Rekha to enter the house.
Rekha also shocked the nation when she announced her marriage with Mukesh Agarwal. But the marriage didn't survive for long and Mukesh committed suicide.
The much-talked about love-story between Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha started on the sets of the film Do Anjaane. Reportedly, the couple used to meet in a bungalow that belonged to Rekha's friend.
Rumours also started doing rounds that Amitabh and Rekha got married as she turned up at Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh's wedding wearing sindoor and mangalsutra.
Trying to avoid each other, Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan have been spotted on various award functions and parties.
However, Rekha has made no comment on the fake 'Sindoor' news which is making headlines [in 2017].
Amitabh Bachchan
Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan's offscreen camaraderie garnered more eyeballs than their onscreen chemistry. Rumour mills went abuzz with their link up stories. But neither of them ever came out to deny or accept these allegations. Rekha's equation with the Bachchan family has always been mired in controversies. In an interview with Simi Garewal on her show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, Rekha spoke at length about her equation with superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Let's find out the deepest secrets Rekha had kept hidden from the world.
In the interview, Rekha had said, "Standing in front of Mr Amitabh Bachchan is not easy." She also revealed that the moment she got to know that Amitabh Bachchan had been signed for Do Anjane, she was paranoid. It was his Deewar image that had stuck to Rekha's mind. Rekha also said that she was nervous during the entire shoot of the film. She also recalled a funny experience with Amit ji and said that she was so nervous because of his presence that she used to forget her lines. And then one day, Amitabh Bachchan told her, in his baritone, "Suniye...zara dialogue yaad kar lijiyega."
Rekha also said that she had a lot of respect for Amitabh Bachchan because of his talent and his dedication towards his craft. She also said that in a way, Amitabh Bachchan had inspired her to transform into the Rekha people know today. "I have never seen him express pain. Ghode se giro, pahad se giro, barf mein nange paon jao, whatever you do never express pain," she said. She recalled how during the shoot of Ganga Ki Saugandh, Amitabh Bachchan used to get hurt but the more he used to get hurt, the better his performance turned out to be.
"People come and go in your life. It is upto you choose how you want to associate with that person. It is upto you to learn and imbibe things from such a person," Rekha said. Rekha also accepted the fact that she was fascinated by Amitabh Bachchan. She also said that she had never seen or met anyone before him, who had so many good qualities.
When Simi asked Rekha if she ever fell in love with Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha said, "Absolutely. I am yet to come across a single man, women, child who can't help but fall completely, passionately, insanely, desperately, specially hopelessly in love with him." But Rekha also said that there was never any personal connection with him at all. On being asked why she has never denied it in public, Rekha said, "It just did not happen. It is not worth denying."
On being asked about a rift between Rekha and Jaya Bachchan, Rekha said, "Not at all. Didibai is much more mature. She is much more together. She's got so much dignity, so much class. She's got a lot of strength, I admire that woman." She also said that she does not think Jaya Bachchan was affected by these rumours.
