When asked if she feels conscious about the fact that she is a superstar, Rekha said in a 1986 BBC interview, “I’m more conscious of the fact that you all believe that I’m a superstar. I simply believe that I’m an artist.” This was perhaps one of the earliest nods to the fact that Rekha took her acting seriously, but not her stardom. Being a woman and an actor can be frustrating and this was especially true back when Rekha established herself as one of Indian cinema’s most beloved figures. Finding that balance between complex roles, thought-provoking storylines, glamour and commercial success was all the more challenging in the Seventies and Eighties, when all eyes seemed to be on men being manly. Yet despite all this, Rekha thrived. She took on challenges, she pushed boundaries; and in her five-decade-long career, she’s proved that no matter what role she plays — wife, ex-wife, mother, courtesan, vamp — Rekha is always the star.
Born to Telugu actor Pushpavalli and superstar Gemini Ganesan (who abandoned them while Rekha was a child), the actor has said in the past that she didn’t harbour dreams of joining the film industry. “Mujhe toh maar maar ke banaya gaya that (I was beaten into the mould of an actress),” she said in an interview. She was still a child when she made her debut in South Indian films and was sixteen when she appeared in her first Hindi film, Sawan Bhadon (1970). The film was a commercial success but its heroine — dusky, heavy and full-bodied — was mocked and criticised for her appearance. Six years later, in Do Anjaane (1976) and opposite Amitabh Bachchan, there appeared a new Rekha – slim, poised, confident and far more self-assured as an actor.
Also Read: Book Review: Rekha: The Untold Story
Perhaps because of the misogynist critique she received about her appearance in her early years, Rekha would almost always choose roles of glamorous women who were as complex as they were beautiful. In roles like Vasantsena, from Girish Karnad’s Utsav (1984), she raised heart rates and eyebrows, all the while emphasising the courtesan’s intelligence and independent spirit. The buzz around Aastha: In the Prison of Spring (1997) might have been because audiences were curious about the much talked-about erotic scenes, but Rekha’s performance underscored the constraints that bind a middle-class, Indian homemaker. She dominated the Eighties and the Nineties, with roles that ranged from being unabashedly commercial to hard-hitting and unconventional. Her choices redefined the parameters for a heroine in Hindi cinema.
By the time the 2000s rolled around, Rekha’s contemporaries were playing the ageing mother – the final rung for actresses once they’re considered past their prime. However, Rekha actively resisted this, beginning the decade with significant roles in Bulandi (2000), Zubeidaa (2001) and Lajja (2001). It was finally in Rakesh Roshan’s cultural phenomenon Koi… Mil Gaya (2003) that the actress was seen in the role of a single mother with a mentally-disabled child (but with a flashback that showed her in a more glamorous avatar). The actress, in response to the criticism of her work, had once said, “I don’t have problems playing anything. I’ve reached a stage where I could do justice to any role that came my way. It could be the role of a mother, a sister-in-law; negative, positive, sensational or anything.” We agree.
Here’s a look at some iconic roles from Rekha’s filmography.