REENA ROY: GLAMOUR QUEEN OF YESTERYEAR:

REENA ROY: GLAMOUR QUEEN OF YESTERYEAR:

REENA AND MOSHIN:

Theirs was without any doubt the much-talked about marriage (taken place in early eighties) since the guy was a very famous super cricketer of Pakistani cricket team and the gal a coveted mega actress of Hindi film industry. When their love affair oozed out and they started dating, the gossip mill had begun to buzz in the Bollywood fraternity, in the media around the globe, amongst the Pakistani cricket team and the masses. Whenever the Pakistani team went to India to play matches, the gorgeous dusky actress would go to stadium to see her dashing hero playing the shots. Even Reena did not miss any chance to see the live matches of Mohsin Khan in other corners of the world. The same happened with the Oval hero, as he was also found on the sets and on the roads of Bombay to meet his girlfriend. This was a mad love between the two, which took both to tie the knot finally without caring about the boundaries of the two countries (as they rightly say, ‘Love sees no boundaries’.

Nobody in the industry believed that Reena would eventually settle down. Prior to meeting Mohsin, she was madly in love with the Banarsi Babo Shatrughan Sinha. Besides, Roy was also on a constant see-saw, now-on and now-off relationships with other men. Reena wanted marriage but Shatru was unable to make up his mind since he was already married to his childhood sweetheart Poonam. He was dilly-dallying between the two ladies whom he met daily – one on the sets and the other at home. Sinha’s shaky mind dragged Reena to another man, Rajnesh from whom she did also not find any happiness, utter love and piece of mind. She was deeply in a low phase, when the charming Khan came into her life. The chocolate looking macho Bollywood hero Vinod Khanna helped her get out of this low phase and Jaya Bachchan encouraged Reena to say ‘yes’ to Mohsin Khan’s marriage proposal. The moment Reena decided to become Mohsin’s bride, she did not leave any stone unturned to play the perfect bahu begum of Pakistan. She started to support the Pakistani team. Every time there was an India-Pakistan match where Indian team did better, the whole film industry would tease Reena saying, ‘Jal Gayi Reena Roy’.

In May, 1980, in an interview to the media, Reena Roy expressed her desire to get married and leave the film fraternity (as her lover boy had stepped into her life by now, but it was too early to make up her mind for him). She said, “I don’t know why, but I am suddenly beginning to resent work these days. I think I’m tired. Half of my time goes in traveling to the studios and the other half in waiting endlessly for my shot. I am fed up with costumes, wigs, make up and all that. I think I need to settle down. I wish some Prince Charming would come galloping my way. The day he does, I will get married and go away like Mumtaz. Never to return to the archlights again.”

Three years later, when she was in London to attend the Amitabh Bachchan show, their love boomed and soared sky high. Mohsin Khan took the flight to London to spend the leisure time with his princess. Every evening, Mohsin Khan called her up at her hotel, where she was staying, and asked her to be ready. He picked her up in his car and took her for long drives. They talked for long hours. Mohsin told her about his game, his ambitions and his future. Reena listened him and enjoyed his talking thoroughly. She, on the other hand, expressed about her flagging interest in her profession, her dilemma and her growing insecurities. Both also discussed their parents, their families and friends. Slowly but surely, the strong love relationship was cemented between the two.

Back home, in India, Reena began to think often of Mohsin, started missing him a lot. She confessed to herself and then to her close friend Jaya Bachchan that she was deeply in love with the super Pakistani cricketing hero. But the problem was that she was unable to decide what to do..! Jaya, being a good friend, made Reena conscious of her own identity and the need to find real happiness for herself. She asked Reena to put aside her doubts about her family, her career, about Shatrughan Sinha and helped her make a decision for her prosperous future and happiness in life. Therefore Jaya gave the positive signal to wed to Mohsin Khan, as Reena was unable to live without the guy and her world was lying with the charming Moshin Hassan Khan. Reena knew Moshin for more than six years. Besides, he was talented, successful, much famous across the globe and very rich. Hence there appeared no problem at all for the beautiful renowned actress of Bollywood to spend the rest of her life with the popular dashing Khan. On the other hand, she too had played long innings in the film industry and earned pretty good fame and money, as she was there for the last ten years. But now she was tired of acting and the futile relationships, she had gone through earlier. There was a vacuum in her life and above all, the age for marriage was growing also. So, she decided to be the life partner of her dream man, Moshin Khan. Finally, the wedding took place on 1st April, 1983 and Reena left for her new home in Karachi, Pakistan.

Years later, when Moshin Khan said good bye to the national cricket team due to his clashes with the cricket board, he settled with his wife Reena Roy in Bombay and tried his luck in Hindi cinema. But as the fact is crystal clear that the cricketers can hit sixes only in playgrounds not on celluloid, he too flopped at Bollywood front doing few films in a few years like his counterpart Sandeep Patel (the debonair batsman of Indian cricket team), who made his debut in films opposite with Poonam Dhillon in ‘Kabhi Ajnabi Thay’ and did some films after that and went back to home. Reena did not return to filmdom, though her hubby was doing movies, instead she preferred to be a housewife looking after her baby girl, Jannat.

All Reena and Mohsin want is a happy married life being lovers always. But destiny had something else in store for them. The clashes started to emerge between the lovers and some years later, they parted their ways. Mohsin gave divorce to Reena and returned to his home, Pakistan. Khan joined Lollywood (Pakistani film industry) and did many films but again he had to face bad luck on movies front.

Today he is a successful commentator of cricket and coaches the young aspiring cricketers. Reena Roy, after being divorced, returned to archlights but failed in both the entertaining worlds – films and television being the leading actress of the past. When they divorced, Mohsin Khan got the custody of the daughter but when he re-married, Reena Roy got her back with the help of the law. Today, Jannat lives with Reena Roy.

Once the mad lovers, today they both hesitate and do not like to talk about each other.

- Written By: Goher Iqbal Punn

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REENA ROY: GLAMOUR QUEEN OF YESTERYEAR:

When some of her friends in Bombay realized her plight, they asked her to come back to Bombay, but were shocked to see this new Reena. She had put on kilos of weight and her face could hardly be recognized. In one of her first talks after coming to Bombay she said "I am responsible for all that has happened to me. I am responsible for all the mistakes I have made. People have misused me and betrayed me but I am not going to give up my struggle. I still feel I have the love of the people and God on my side. I am not going to cry over what has happened in my life. I will still look forward for better future."

Reena now tried to find work again, but it was impossible to find the same roles she once found. She tried to loose weight to find work but all she could find were a few serials which were also not the best and she stopped working all together. She turned to politics and campaigned for the Congress party during the elections in 2004. Reena Roy who could have been a queen is now a story from the past and lives the life of a recluse with her sister, Barkhaa Roy in Pam Villa, her house in which one has to go all around and sometimes wait for hours to catch a glimpse of a woman who is a victim of the unexpected and uncertain steps in the great dance of life.

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