She
is the ultimate dream girl, the sexy-sassy woman
who titillated, tantalized and charmed moviegoers
for more than three decades. Even at the age
of fifty she compares favorably with most glamorous
of the young nymphets to strike a cord in Bollywood
and that includes young sirens like Rani Mukherjee
and Aishwarya Rai. Rekha debuted into the world
of movies at the age of thirteen and thirty-seven
years later she retains her relevance in Bollywood
hierarchy. Age hasn't prevented her from partaking
her share of creamy roles, playing alongside
today's biggest stars and youngest stars.
Her vast repertoire of performances has charmed
every generation of viewers in India and abroad.
Her unforgettable roles in films like Muquddar
Ka Sikandar, Sauten Ki Beti, Khoobsoorat, and
Mujhe Insaaf Chaahiye have made her the darling
of the masses. Her superb histrionic talents
are brought to fore by her pitch perfect characterizations
in arty films like Umrao Jaan, Adha and Silsila.
In her long acting career a lot of Filmfare
awards have come her way - for Khoon Bhari Mang,
and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi to name but a few.
Her off-screen romances are as legendary. Her
torrid affairs with actors Jeetendra, Vinod
Mehra, and Amitabh Bachchan have been the grist
to the mill for many gossip columns.
Rekha's elegance is timeless. Her films ensure
for her a lasting and enduring success. In a
way, she has reinterpreted what it means to
be a woman in Bollywood, thus producing a stronger,
sexier, smarter, and more independent female
screen persona. She looks equally comfortable
in a Western dress, or attired in the traditional
Kanjeevarams. It is Rekha's impeccable grace
that enables her to make a great fashion statement
out of any sort of dress she wears. As for make-up,
it is the heavy lipstick and the red tones that
define her sensuous features. Fashion guru,
screen legend, classical dancer extraordinaire,
devoted friend, and Renaissance woman, it seems
as though Rekha has accomplished more than several
lifetimes worth of achievements.
Unlike her Hollywood counterparts or some of
the new entrants in Bollywood she isn't synthetic
in her appearance. No plastic surgery for her.
She is happy with the natural beauty with which
she is already amply endowed. No liposuction
or even dying her hair. She wants to remain
as au natural as possible. In fact, she has
been quoted as saying, "I want to meet
these doctors who keep claiming they have worked
on me. I'm not a lippo kind of girl, I'm a hippo
kind of girl. I have big South Indian hips,
and I'll have to keep them that way." That
is vintage Rekha, a woman who never minces words
in getting her views across.
