The circumstances in which Rekha grew up were out of the ordinary, to say the least. The actor was born out of wedlock to superstar father Gemini Ganesan, who ignored her existence and provided no support to her mother in raising her and her siblings. This meant that Rekha was pulled out of school in the 9th standard and pushed into films as a 14-year-old teenager. But despite facing all the odds, she went on forger her own path in the film industry. She went on to form two iconic on-screen pairings - with Jeetendra and Amitabh Bachchan - both of whom left a lasting impact on her craft, and she was at one time the subject of dating rumours with each of these stars. As Rekha turns 71 today, here's looking at her extraordinary journey and how she learnt acting while working with her co-stars and absorbing their craft. I had to grow up overnight: Rekha on becoming breadwinner at 14 While the journey was tough, Rekha became independent at a very young age. She not only supported herself but also became the sole breadwinner for her debt-ridden mother and helped her siblings. After her career in the South didn’t pick up - as many were hesitant to cast the illegitimate child of Gemini Ganesan - Rekha moved to Mumbai, where brothers Kuljeet and Shatrujeet Pal signed her for an eight-film deal. At the time, she didn’t even know Hindi and often found herself being mocked on set. “ I didn’t understand Hindi. I couldn’t tell if people were being rude or being nice to me. All I wanted to do was go back and play with my dolls,” she told Filmfare. Rekha admitted that she soon became a 'mother' to her own mother and siblings. “I was a breadwinner. I had to grow up overnight and take care of my siblings,” she said. I had almost up to 40 films on the floor; would carry Dettol to sanitise the loos: Rekha Her tough circumstances gave Rekha little option but to carry on in the film industry. Though Do Shikaari was the first film she shot for, her first Hindi release was Sawan Bhadon in 1970. After that, she starred in back-to-back films, with as many as eight to ten releases in a single year. In an old interaction, Rekha recalled a time when she had nearly 40 films on the floor simultaneously. “In the late ’70s and early ’80s, I was doing three shifts in Annapoorna Studio. Hyderabad became my home away from home. Don’t ask me how, at one point I had almost up to 40 films on the floor, unreal, no?” she recalled. She added, “I used to sleep in my Volkswagen trailers. I would be studio hopping happily, changing make-up in my car. Sometimes waiting endlessly for late lateef co-stars to turn up, catch my forty winks. I remember the studios were so musty. I’d carry my own Dettol to sanitise the loos.” When Rekha admitted copying Amitabh Bachchan Rekha might have entered the film industry reluctantly and faced some excruciating experiences, but she soon became one of the most celebrated faces of Hindi cinema, starring in iconic films like Dharmatma, Ghar, Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Mr. Natwarlal, Silsila, and Namak Haraam, among others. Rekha learned a great deal from her co-stars. In an old interview with Filmfare, she admitted that she absorbed much of her craft by observing Amitabh Bachchan, with whom she worked in 10 films. “Whatever I am as an actor, I owe 100 per cent to him. I just soaked in whatever he had to offer, just observing him,” Rekha said . In another 1994 interview with Movie magazine, Rekha recalled how Big B motivated her during a particularly challenging crowd scene in Silsila. “I can pick up moments like the ‘I hate you’ scene I did for Silsila. It was such an intense scene and there were 15,000 people on the location at five in the morning. I had major lines to speak, crying et al. I asked Yashji (Chopra, Director) for time, but he said no.” It was then that Amitabh shared an unusual story to boost her confidence: James Dean, in the film Giant, had faced a similar dilemma. He simply turned around and urinated in front of the crowd, which made him feel “on top of the world.” Dean thought to himself, “Isse bura kya ho sakta hai?” and gave a perfect shot. After Big B's story Rekha thanked him and went on to do the scene, “Start, camera, action sunte hi sab chup ho gaye. End mein when I hugged Amitji, toh sab bole, ‘Ooooh’. I had a hard time trying to control my expression,” she recalled. During the same interaction, Rekha admitted that she had incorporated Amitabh Bachchan’s mannerisms in her film Madam X. "When we started working together, we were at a very impressionable stage. Each one left his or her impression on the other. I worked with him in 10 films at an early stage of my career, spanning over so many years. How can I not be influenced?” Jeetendra called Rekha a 'true friend' Rekha and Jeetendra shared the screen in over 30 films and were one of the most sought-after on-screen pairs in Hindi cinema. However, their frequent collaborations also sparked dating rumours, which the duo never addressed publicly. Despite the speculation, their friendship remained steadfast. In an interview in 2024, Jeetendra fondly called Rekha his “yaaron ka yaar” and recalled a remarkable instance when she helped him navigate a tricky situation with income tax officials. “I remember once I had to solve some income tax problems. My chartered accountant told me that the officer in charge was a huge Rekha fan and would be only too happy to meet her,” he said. He went on to add, “I called up Rekha and explained my problem to her, and she said, ‘No problem, Ravya, I’ll be there.’ She reached my home at the appointed time and went out of her way to be cordial with the officer. What’s more, she even served him snacks with her own hands. The fanboy was floored, and my tax problems were all sorted. Now you tell me, who does that? Unles
