GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



7.KHILADIYON KA KHILADI(1996): A kitschy commercial movie with much younger hunk Akshay Kumar, saw a delightful performance by Rekha as Madame Maya, the underworld don who spars with her sister’s lover. Well into her forties, she still effortlessly upstaged heroine Raveena Tandon and steamed up the screen with Akshay, winning awards for ‘The Best Performance in a negative role”.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



8.Aastha (1996): An offbeat movie around the same time as ‘Khiladiyon..’, Aastha depicted the pressures of materialism on a neglected middle aged housewife. Cast against the brilliant Om Puri, Rekha delivered a knock-out performance as the protagonist who succumbs to prostitution. Sadly she narrowly missed out the National Award to Tabu’s performance in ‘Maachis’.

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quote:

Originally posted by chameli:
nooooooooooooooo

not hema malini

Okay:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



9.Silsila (1982): A Yash Chopra movie that was well ahead of its times, Silsila featured Amitabh, Jaya and Rekha in a story that was embarrassingly close to their real life situation. The romantic intensity between Rekha and Amitabh in Silsila is in the league of Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Also brilliant is her confrontation scene with Jaya (once again finding echoes in Madhuri and Ashwarya’s confrontation scene in Devdas). Pity that Rekha’s stunning beauty amidst the picturesque Amsterdam locales distracted from the simmering performances.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



10.Utsav (1984): Coming at the peak of Rekha’s career, this was a period drama based on the Sanskrit play ‘Mrichchakatika’ and was a celebration of the spring festival and love. Rekha’s inherent sensuality oozed from every frame of this movie. Her stunningly authentic grand costumes coupled with outstanding artwork make this movie a visual treat.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



41. Till date, Rekha converses with her Silsila dialogue writer Sagar Sarhadi with dialogues from the film.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



42. She is known to have a sharp memory and remembers numerous nazams, shayri and lines from her films.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



43. The secret behind Rekha's miraculous change of skin colour, besides Yoga, was a special cream she purchased from Singapore. The actress, of course, denies it.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



44. Not many know that the first film people Rekha approached when she came to Bombay, were Nargis and Sunil Dutt, whom she always held in high regard

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



45. Rekha, who does her own make-up learnt the art from London. She was the first to introduce the concept of oily make-up when others were into dry, talcum look.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



46. A stickler for perfection, Rekha shoots with a select few fashion photographers. After the shoot, she goes through the transparencies and stills and personally decides which one should be used.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



47. One of her favourite activities is to sit on the swing in her balcony and gaze at the sea.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA

Of her ten best movies that we have listed, we will at least play one song of each movie.

Will get to that later.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Rekha as she appears in Mr Natwarlall

GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Screen shots: Rekha as she appears in Mukkandar Ka Sikandar

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Mujhe Meri Biwi Se Bachaao

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Rekha with Karishma Kapoor in Zubeida

GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


More shots from Zubeida:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Zubeida: the pridicament of one king with two queens:

GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Zubeida:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Umrao Jaan:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Umrao Jaan:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Umrao Jaan:

GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Umrao Jaan:

GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA

GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Rekha and Amitabh in Mr Natwarlal:

quote:

Originally posted by chameli:
x times 14

Thanks:

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quote:

Originally posted by chameli:
Bhaiyo, thank u for fixing....veyr beautiful pics...so much memories...she was/is soooooo gorgeous (goes to show...beauty alone cannot keep a man)

Thanks for keeping my company Dids, will try to fix a few more before bedtime

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quote:

Originally posted by chameli:
all 14 fixed

stay well Bhaiya

Look at a very rare Rekha Family Pix; tell me if it shows:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


Rare sight: Rekha and her five sisters!

To see six of Gemini Ganesan's seven daughters together is a rare sight.

In December 2004, when he was very ill, they made it a point to come down to Chennai and nurse their father.

They met again in February 2005, at Chennai's Apollo Hospital. Rekha was to inaugurate the Apollo Wellness Clinic, and all the sisters except Rekha's own sister, Radha, made it a point to attend the function.

The eldest among the six sisters is Dr Revathi Swaminathan, a radiation oncologist practising in Illinois, USA. Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Gemini Ganesan's second daughter, runs the G G Hospital in Chennai. Narayani Ganesan is a journalist with The Times Of India in Delhi. The youngest is Dr Jaya Shreedhar, a health advisor with Inter News Network.

Rekha and Radha are Gemini Ganesan's daughters from actress Pushpavalli, and Vijaya Chamundeswari, daughter of actress Savithri, is a fitness expert working at the G G Hospital.

"The only one missing is Rekha's sister Radha who is in the US," says Dr Jaya Shreedhar. "She is elder to both Viji [Vijaya] and me.

"Though Appa was unwell, we had some good moments when we met in December. People may assume that there are strained relationships because we don't share the same mother but there is nothing like that," she adds.

"We are professional women, and over the years, have learnt to appreciate each sister for what she is. We did not have the pleasure of growing up together. In fact, between my own elder sister Revathi and me, there is a 20 year age difference. Appa was very happy to have all of us together. This was a kind of pleasure he never had when we were young."

Jaya was the only daughter who saw her father at home when she was young. "By the time I was born, he was a senior star and had moved out of those relationships, and was with my mother. It is really strange but the upbringing was in a way that there was never any ill-will. You are born into it," she says.

"Suppose we were brought up in a middle class, rigid culture, I might have found it unusual and emotionally challenging. When we sisters met this time, it was more like six 'wild' cousins meeting and talking non-stop. It was lots of fun!"

From left to right: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan, Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari and Dr Jaya Shreedhar.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA

1) THE VIDEO: DIL CHEEZ KYA HAI AAP MERE

2) THE VIDEO: IN AAKHON KI MASTI KE

3) THE VIDEO: JUSTAJU JISKI THI:

4) THE VIDEO: YEH KYA JAGE HAIN DOSTON

5) THE VIDEO: YEH KAHAAN AA GAYE HUM

6) THE VIDEO: NEELA ASMAAN SO GAYA

7) THE VIDEO: TERE ISHQ KA MUJHPE:

More to come:

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA

FILM: RAAMPUR KA LAKSHMAN:

THE VIDEO: Gum hai kisike pyar mein

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quote:

Originally posted by chameli:
without face restructuring and a lil bit a tweaking,Rekha would've looked like the one in grn or pink....

i guess, they are same mother but diff father

oops, they are same father, diff. MOTHERS!!!

Rekha father was a very handsome star, and her mother was an actress too, father was very popular as he had acted in more than 200 films.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



Rekha remembers her childhood as idyllic:

“I was pulled out of the ninth class and made to work when I was fourteen. At that time, it made no sense. I was the pampered child of the family, always given everything I wanted and ten rupees pocket money a day. It seemed to me that we were happy and certainly well off, I was not to know how much in debt my mother was, till much later. So, the idea of working in films did not appeal to me at all. I used to refuse to go to the sets and occasionally my brother beat me up.” - Bombay magazine, (7 January, 1986)

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



This is the familiar story of the child star. It is also a chilling story, if one puts the hints that Rekha has dropped over the years together, the suggestions of exploitation and cruelty. For instance, on the sets of what should have been her first film but which was released almost a decade later, Anjana Safar (1979) (renamed Do Shikari), Biswajeet kissed Rekha for the cameras. He did so without warning, following the director’s instructions. Raja Nawathe who was the cameraman, was so uncomfortable about shooting a kiss that he focussed the camera and then looked away and forgot to say 'cut'. The resultant kiss made it to the Asian edition of Life magazine and made Rekha into a sex symbol.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA



“Rekha is a rare gem,” says director Mahesh Bhatt. “If only I had a suitable script for her, I would cast her without any delay”. Yash Chopra, another leading producer director, sighs, “Such talent, Rekha should go on acting as long as she can.”

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA


She still sizzles

From histrionics to sensuality and an enigmatic appeal of a diva to an air of mystery—Rekha seems to have it all. Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 50th Fimfare Awards, Rekha, like good wine, seems to have got better with the years. Neither time nor age has rubbed off the sheen from her star quality. Not only does she still continue to dazzle but has also displayed the tenacity to reinvent herself in step with times. The veteran was supposed to be a mentor to Mallika Sherawat but gave the latter a run for her oomph factor when she teamed up with her in Bachke Rehna Re. Putting all wannabe sizzling stars to shame, at 50 plus Rekha is all set to vow audiences in a sizzling item number in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parineeta, which is set in the Kolkata of 1960s. Rekha plays a crooner in a nightclub called ‘Maulin Rouge.’ A die-hard Rekha fan, Chopra tested the queen bee for three days before okaying her for the item number.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA




Bollywood had seen more beautiful women than Rekha and more talented actresses. But they were just stars, successful stars who had their day in the industry and then disappeared. None of them possessed the rare qualities of Rekha, a sort of icon worshipped by her fans.

For more than a decade-and-a-half, she remained the top star of Bollywood, co-starring with all top heroes and handling memorable roles. Rekha bagged every available award, including the National Award and three Filmfare awards. She worked with all top directors, excelling in both straightforward and offbeat roles.

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GLAMOROUS DIVA OF YESTERYEAR: REKHA

When the process of cleaning and cutting the uncut diamond began. Rekha of the 1980s turned out to be different from the Rekha from the 1970s. There had been no doubts about her ability as an actor, she had delivered hit after hit. Umrao Jaan and Khubsoorat, both 1981 releases, produced a new Rekha. Poised, well groomed and brilliant. Umrao Jaan, the story of a Lucknow court singer which saw a radiant Rekha lingered in one’s mind. Recalled co-star, Farooque Shaikh, "She was just awesome, it was a privilege to act with her."

This was the period when the ugly duckling emerged as the graceful swan. This was also the peak period of the Rekha-Amitabh starrers. There were rumours that he advised her how to dress up, put on make up, what to read and what kind of roles to accept. According to other reports, Rekha learnt to do her own make up, after completing a course in London and began to favour the oily, dusky kind of make up, not the dry one favoured by most Indian stars. She began to dress in the most exquisite Conjeevaram silks and chiffon sarees which she bought in hundreds.

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