Whether male or female, if you grew up during the golden era of Bollywood there is not even the faintest chance of you not having a crush on the evergreen beauty REKHA. You had to admire this beautiful diva who left broken hearts in her wake everywhere she went. In this piece, we give you a list of five of her iconic Bollywood roles.
Rekha is the quintessential Bollywood diva. Whether it is seductive beauty or innocent charm, a femme fatale or a village belle, she has done numerous roles in just about every role that you can imagine, and she has stolen the hearts of many while doing so. She has turned 63 in 2017, and yet she maintains her hold on the flutters of young men and women alike who look up to her as an epitome of beauty.
Here are a few roles in Bollywood movies that earned Rekha her fame.
1. Umrao Jaan (1981)
A film adaptation of the Urdu novel, ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’, written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa, Umrao Jaan told the story of a courtesan and poetess based in 19th Century Lucknow.
2. Silsila (1981)
Also another of her scintillating performances, this movie made headlines because it was rumoured that the three actors who played the three main lead roles were actually involved in a love triangle in their real lives.
3. Khoobsurat (1980)
Before the successes of Umrao Jaan and Silila came her career-defining role as the bubbly and vivacious Manju in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s directorial venture, Khoobsurat.
4. Ghar (1978)
A Gulzar movie on a severely dark subject – how a married couple deal with and overcome the shadow of rape – should have brought Rekha more accolades than it did.
5. Muqaddar ka Sikandar (1978)
Perhaps the role that gave the casting directors of Umrao Jaan confidence that Rekha can pull off a courtesan’s look with ease, in this movie she plays Zohra Bai, the selfless lover of Sikandar, played by Amitabh Bachchan.
