Rekha – The Metamorphosis 

I have had the unique pleasure of watching the rise of some of the most important celebrities, especially in the world of films in Mumbai. Almost anyone who has made it big during the last forty years has grown to the heights of success they have, as I have watched them taking every step in their lives and their careers. They have come as nobodies, they have struggled, they have faced insults and unbearable humiliation, but they have not given up and the result is where they stand today, standing tall in all their glory. I have written a book ("Witnessing Wonders") on some of the best success stories, but at this point of time, I feel it is only right for me to talk about a marvel of a woman called Rekha, a woman who has risen above all the circumstances and vicissitudes of life and is a member of the RajyaSabha today.

I remember the time when she landed in Bombay towards the end of the sixties after playing a couple of roles in the South. She was best known as the daughter of the Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan who was known as "the Adonis" (love God) and Pushpavalli who also had a stint as an actress. It was a very stormy beginning for the young Bhanurekha (the original name of Rekha) because according to reports she was born when her parents had still to get married and had several problems during their relationship.

It was the atmosphere at home and the endless financial problems that forced a thirteen -year old girl to come looking for a career in Hindi films. I remember she had no home of her own and initially lived at the Ajanta Hotel in Juhu and her secretary was a man called Ganesh who was also the secretary of the veteran actor Ashok Kumar. She had signed her first film called Anjaana Safar" which was made by Shatrujit Pal and had Biswajeet as her hero. In one of the scenes from the film Biswajeet had to kiss her and she had to do the kissing scene because she had no other choice. The kiss became a very controversial issue and it even made it to the covers of some of the leading magazines including the Asian edition of "Life" magazine. The censors did not allow the scene and the film faced all kinds of problems and had to be released at a later date and time as Do Shikari which did not do well at all.

Rekha however continued to try and find success and she found it when a film called Swan Bhadon" was released with Navin Nischol as her hero. The film worked and was a super hit which gave Rekha a good sounding board. But it was also the beginning of her struggle. She signed several films but was almost looked down upon as "an ugly black duckling" and was criticized for her being dark, very plump and with a very bad sense of dressing up. This kind of criticism continued and she had to bear the barbs and the taunts and even the names her heroes called her.

This was a time when she was reported to have affairs with heroes like Kin Kin (Kiran Kumar) and Vin Vin (Vinod Mehra)The gossip magazines had a field day writing about her affairs with men more than trying to take her seriously as an actress. The way she was treated I still think made her make up her mind to let them all know how she could transform herself into someone entirely different and she worked very hard on her figure, her face, her language and above all her attitude and confidence. According to some who were close to her if there was one man who was responsible for bringing about the big change in her, it was Amitabh Bachchan who starred with her in at least seven big films and formed a very close association with her which many believed was also one of the greatest affairs in the industry. She even refused to mention his name and always referred to him as "Him". The two did not ever mention a word about what people called their affair but they could not stop people from talking about them and the talk continued till they did their last film together, Yash Chopra's Silsila which had Amitabh playing Jaya's husband who had an extra-marital relationship with the gorgeous Rekha. The film was as controversial as the affair they were supposed to have and managed to earn all the appreciation as a film which even made money for Yash Chopra.

Rekha was now on a one woman mission to prove how a single woman could manage her own life and gradually grow into one of the most talked about lives in India and even in different parts of the world. She was rising both as a "Diva" and as a very talented actress who could play any role from a beloved to a fighter against causes, to a negative character almost bordering on the vampish and the mother and even the grandmother. I have seen this metamorphosis and have been baffled by it and it has also given me unlimited pleasure. She has also proved that anything is possible, kuch bhi mumkin hai.

I had my own encounters with her and I feel I must remember at least one of them on her birthday (October 10). I was at the Seth Studios where my friend Vishwanath who was once Guru Dutt's manager was managing the affairs of the only air conditioned studio in Mumbai and who invited me to the studio to tell me stories about the legend called Guru Dutt. It was during one of these visits that I was told that Rekha was shooting on one of the floors. I must confess that I was not in the right frame of mind, but I still couldn’t resist the temptation of going on the floor where she was shooting a dance sequence. I don’t know how she knew about the condition in which I had visited her sets, but the first thing I heard when I reached my office was that "Madam Rekha" had complained to my editor about my going to her sets in an awkward condition. I was lucky not to be punished for my "big crime", but I stopped going to any place where "Madam Rekha" was around.

Some time passed and one evening the same editor to whom "Madam Rekha" had complained told me that I had to fly to Udaipur where Rekha and Rajnikanth were shooting for a film called Phool Bane Angaray. I thought that the editor was trying to take some kind of revenge on me or just trying to make me a "balikabakra". I however decided to face the consequences. I reached the hotel which was once a palace. There was a small party as soon as we, a group of journalists had reached. She then came down the wooden stairs with a poodle in her arms and one look at her and I felt like I was going to sink into the ground.

She made things much more dangerous for me when she asked only one question, "has Mr. Ali come?" I had to raise my hands as if I was about to be shot down by her. She called me and said she wanted to see me in her room the next morning at seven sharp. I did not sleep that night and reached her room in the morning. She said I would have to meet her every morning as long as I was in Udaipur. It was a time when she was going through a crisis since MukeshAgrawal, the businessman from Delhi who she had married had committed suicide. We started talking, in fact, she started talking about her life and continued talking for the next three mornings that I spent with her which were some of the most glorious moments of my life as a journalist and also as a man who had all the admiration for strong and beautiful women.

I wrote about my meeting with her with all the sincerity. The article was published. She was shooting with Sunil Dutt for his film Yeh Aag Kab Bhujegi. She called me and asked me to sit next to her and said, "What are you doing as a film journalist? You should have been a poet and be writing poetry instead of writing about people like me". She had given me a new lease of life. We then met very often and more than films and her career, she talked about her life and more about my life. I have not met her for a long time now because of reasons I would not like to make public, but I know that she must be remembering those four mornings we spent in Udaipur as much as I remember them because such meetings and such mornings happen in the lives of two people only once in a way.

It is entirely difficult to imagine how that "ugly duckling" has turned into the queen of her own empire today. Can any other woman who has faced the kinds of problems she has faced try and work magic over herself? Can a woman for whom no one had seen any future once be honoured with the Padma Shri and now nominated to the RajyaSabha where she is the woman who makes the heads of the most powerful men and women turn when she just enters?
A woman like Rekha is a major source of inspiration for all women, even for the women of today who are talking about and fighting for women empowerment because she fought and won her battle for empowerment more than thirty years ago.

Ek Rekha jo har koi paar nahin kar sakta, ek Rekha jo yeh bhi sikhaati hai ki aurat kisi ki pair ki joothi nahin hai na banni chahiye kyuki jo shakti ek aurat mein hai woh mardo mein hai lekin ek aurat, Rekha jaisi aurat, kahin mardon se bahot jyaada shaktimaan hai aur aage bhi ho sakti hai, ho jaayegi.

By Ali Peter John (March 2017)