‘Rekha came at 12:30 pm for 9 am shift’: How Shyam Benegal’s anger at actress’ tardiness turned into awe

In fact, Shyam revealed that many were surprised that he had cast Rekha as one of the principal protagonists in his 1981 film, Kalyug. “They had gotten used to me choosing actors who were not stars,” said the veteran, adding another important facet of Rekha, which made her an extremely special actor. “She had a photographic memory. You give her a dialogue, she reads it once, and she remembers it. In fact, she can remember it even if someone reads it to her.” 

Recollecting a particularly fascinating incident that happened during the dubbing of Kalyug, Shyam said, “Since she played a prominent role in the film, I had booked the dubbing studio for three days. Rekha was supposed to come in at 9, and she didn’t turn up till 12.30, and I was getting angry.”

However, this anger soon turned into a diametrically opposite emotion when Rekha started her dubbing process. “She came in at 12.30, and the lunch break was at 1. We didn’t break for lunch, extended the dubbing session to 20 minutes, and she finished all her lines. We didn’t just break for lunch that day, but ended the day itself, and even cancelled the studio we had booked for three more days for her dubbing. That was her extraordinary talent.” 

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Interestingly, 1981 was a rather important year for Rekha as she didn’t just take a detour from her starry roles with Kalyug, but also with Umrao Jaan, which won her a National Award for Best Actress.