‘Amitabh Bachchan left Shabana Azmi’s party when he saw Rekha, hailed a taxi since his driver was eating’: When Amar Singh hinted at a past relationship

Amitabh Bachchan once left a party in a huff because he apparently spotted Rekha in the same place.

New Delhi | Updated: October 17, 2025 01:02 PM IST

3 min read

Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha last worked together in Silsila. (Photo: Express Archives)

Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha were both trying to find their feet in the Hindi film industry in the early 1970s, when they were cast together in some films. Across the decade they worked together in almost a dozen of films like – Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Do Anjaane, Namak Haraam, Mr Natwarlal, among many others. It was during this time that rumours about their relationship gained steam as by this time, Amitabh was already married to Jaya Bachchan. When Yash Chopra made Silsila, a film about an extramarital affair, starring Amitabh, Jaya and Rekha, it raised many eyebrows. After that film, the two never shared screen space, but the rumours continued. In fact, years later, politician Amar Singh claimed that Amitabh once left a party in a huff because he didn’t want to be in the same space as Rekha.

Amar Singh, who was once very close friends with the Bachchan family, told author Yasser Usman for his book ‘Rekha: The Untold Story’, “Once, Shabana Azmi invited us for her birthday. I reached her house along with Jaya and Amitabh. We reached on time, and Amitabh told his driver to go eat since they would take long. Upon reaching inside, we saw Rekha was already present there. As soon as Amitji saw Rekha, he immediately returned outside.”

The late politician recalled that since Bachchan’s driver had gone to get some food, the actor hailed a cab and left immediately. “The driver had gone to eat food, so we hailed a taxi, hastily boarded it, and returned home.” Amar Singh, who passed away in 2020, said that he never brought up the incident again, but wondered why Bachchan didn’t stay to wish Shabana.

“This hints that there was some relationship… If there was no relationship, he could have at least wished Shabanaji, and indulged in a cordial conversation with Rekha,” he said. He also recalled that once, Hema Malini had also brought up Rekha’s chapter with him, but he did not feel it was wise to indulge in other’s affairs. “Once, a sympathetic Hemaji talked to me about Rekha’s feelings. She told me that you consider Amitabh your brother. Rekha is my friend. Why don’t you do something?” he shared.

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While Amitabh has maintained a dignified silence about the subject, and has never said anything about the matter, Rekha has candidly spoken about her love for the star on many occasions.

In 2024, when she appeared on The Great Indian Kapil Show, Kapil brought up his time on Kaun Banega Crorepati and as he was recounting an incident, Rekha interrupted him and said that she watches the show closely, and remembers everything that was said on it. KBC is hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, who recently turned 83.

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