REKHA........

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.

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 ,Vinod Mehra and was briefly married to a businessman Mukesh Aggarwal from Delhi before he committed suicide.



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.

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



Rekha (Bhanurekha Ganesan) is daughter of the well known film superstar Gemini Ganeshan and actress Pushpavalli. Both of her parents were film stars hence studio became her playground. Film studio was like second home for her. Rekha started acting very early, at the age of Thirteen . She did not even know Hindi at that time. But she was a quick learner and learnt hindi in three months and dancing in one month. Her first film Sawan Bhadon done with Navin Nischol, was released in 1970. Throughout the Seventies, she remained an insignificant entity in Bollywood with nothing but moderate success to her credit. Rekha turned out to be a smart girl. With the help of Yoga and make overs she underwent amazing transformation in early 1980s both physically and mentally, transforming from a plump, darkish, also-ran sort of leading lady to an athletic sexy looking damsel.

This overnight transformation boosted her image in the Bollywood so much so that she reigned as number one for almost a decade! The transformation was so complete that it did not only change her appearance but also seemed to have enhanced her acting capabilities.It was at this stage that Amitabh Bachchan entered her personal and professional life. Their hits together like 'Mukaddar Ka Sikandar', 'Mr. Natwarlal', 'Khoon Paseena' and 'Silsila' made Amitabh-Rekha one of the most successful pairs on the Hindi screen. Her most memorable film is Umraoo Jaan in which she played the role of a court dancer with such charm and captivated the audience with her mastery of classical dances. She acted in over 20 films with the then reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan with whom her reported love Affair culminated in Yash Chopra's art-imitating-life movie Silsila.

Rekha was the undisputed number one film actress of the 80s and part of the 90s. She wasn't just an actress though, Rekha was and still is a LEGEND, and it has been a calculated and hard earned effort. Much has been made of her "transformation" from (in her own words) "a round ball of flesh" (where I think she means a mere human) in the 70s into a toned and manicured ultimate fashion and beauty icon and screen 'star' in the 80s. She practiced yoga and mastered the art of make-up. She was media smart and kept herself in the top headlines for over a decade.

Rekha Biography



Rekha is daugher of the well known film superstar Gemini Ganeshan and actress Pushpavalli. Both of her parents were film stars hence studio became her playground. Film studio was like second home for her. Rekha started acting very early, at the age of Thirteen . She did not even know Hindi at that time. But she was a quick learner and learnt hindi in three months and dancing in one month. Her first film Sawan Bhadon done with with Navin Nischol, was released in 1970. Throughout the Seventies, she remained an insignificant entity in Bollywood with nothing but moderate success to her credit. Rekha turned out to be a smart girl. With the help of Yoga and make overs she underwent amazing transformation in early 1980s both physically and mentally, transforming from a plump, darkish, also-ran sort of leading lady to an athletic sexy looking damsel. This overnight transformation boosted her image in the Bollywood so much so that she reigned as number one for almost a decade! The transformation was so complete that it did not only change her appearance but also seemed to have enhanced her acting capabilities. It was at this stage that Amitabh Bachchan entered her personal and professional life. Their hits together like 'Mukaddar Ka Sikandar', 'Mr. Natwarlal', 'Khoon Paseena' and 'Silsila' made Amitabh-Rekha one of the most successful pairs on the Hindi screen. Her most memorable film is Umraoo Jaan in which she played the role of a court dancer with such charm and captivated the audience with her mastery of classical dances. She acted in over 20 films with the then reigning superstar Amithbh Bachchan with whom her reported love Affair culminated in Yash Chopra's art-imitating-life movie Silsila.

Rekha was born as Bhanurekha Ganesan on the 10th of October in 1954 in Chennai. She is one of the most brilliant as well gorgeous actresses of Bollywood. Well, in this article, we will present you with the biography of Indian actress Rekha.

Early life

Acting is in her blood. Her father Gemini Ganesan was a well known Tamil actor and her mother Pushpavalli was a Telugu actress. It is said that her parents did not tie wedding knots. Infact, people are of the say that, when Rekha was born, her father didn't even make the declaration of his paternity. It was in the early 1970s that, she established her foot in the Indian film industry. To know the complete life history of Rekha, read on.

She is believed to have had several relationships. She became the hottest topic of gossip. All the magazines and newspapers were filled with rumors of Rekha's relationship with Bollywood stars Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra, Kiran Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan. But, none of the relationships worked out and she finally got married to a Delhi based businessman Mukesh Aggarwal in the year 1990. However, he committed suicide the next year in 1991.

Mini Biography

Bhanurekha was born in the Telugu-speaking Ganesan household on October 10, 1954. Her dad was the popular Tamil actor, Gemini, while her mom was a popular Telugu actress, Pushpavalli. She has seven sisters and one brother. One of her sisters is Dr. Kamala Selvaraj, while another one, Radha, lives in San Francisco with a son named Naveed, who is being readied to act in Bollywood movies.

No stranger to the tinsel screen, Bhanurekha acted in a Telugu movie 'Rangula Ratnam' as Baby Bhanurekha along with her mom during 1966, which was subsequently re-made and released in Hindi during 1976 as 'Rangeela Ratan'. She acted in one more Telugu as well as one Kannada movie (Amma Kosam and Goadalli CID 999 respectively) before re-locating to Bombay.

Due to her background, she ended up being very gloomy and pessimistic during her early years. She get a chance to debut in Bollywood movies during 1970 with 'Sawan Bhadon' opposite Navin Nischal with a screen name of Rekha. Inability to speak Hindi, a dusky complexion as well as her weight did not exactly add to her assets in a predominantly fair-skinned, Hindi-speaking North-Indian film industry.

She decided to take matters seriously, took Yoga, shed those extra pounds, learned Hindi and dancing, and thus was born a new and much improved Rekha - who went on to deliver one box office hit after another for example 'Nagin', 'Muqadar Ka Sikander', 'Mr. Natwarlal', 'Khubsoorat', 'Umrao Jaan', 'Khoon Bari Maang' amongst others. In her later years she has taken up character roles and appeared as a mother, even a grandmother in 'Krrish' during 2006.



Her slim, slender looks got her many admirers, including well established Bollywood actors such as Kiran Kumar, Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra, and Amitabh Bachchan. Her marriage to Vinod ended in a divorce, and she ended up getting married to a businessman, Mukesh Aggarwal. This marriage resulted, too, in a divorce, with Mukesh killing himself shortly thereafter.

She likes to surf the Internet, has written biographies of actresses like Zeenat Aman, and Salma Agha on IMDB, likes to collect old photographs and postcards, mimic people, watch movies, and practices Yoga regularly, read comics like Archie and Dennie the Menace, and is a vegetarian. She now lives with her Secretary, Farzana, and pets in a self-owned bungalow in Bandra (West)in Mumbai.