| Profile of Star Rekha She is one of the few
contemporary Indian filmstars with a legendary status for outstripping her screen roles.
The daughter of Tamil-Telegu star Gemini Ganesh, Bhanurekha - Rekha came on screen in late
60s and in 70s a star was born with Mohan Segal's Sawan Bhadon. This black duckling
that turned white was overweight and gawky in her initial years but made a spectacular
physical change in years that followed.
Her image often as a rural belle, became that of a
vulnerable yet sexually driven woman following the role of the prostitute Zohra in Muqaddar
Ka Sikandar. In her heyday she also made a bid for acting respectability by appearing
in New India Cinema type films: Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan, Benegal's Kalyug
and Girish Karnad's Utsav. Her personal life as reflected in media was the subject
of Silsila
in which she is said to have played herself. She was
married briefly to industrialist Mukesh Aggarwal who committed suicide shortly afterwards,
triggering a new wave of public gossip invoking her femme fatale image. |