When Simi Garewal said it was ‘easy’ to ask Rekha if she was ever in love with Amitabh Bachchan: ‘I asked Jayalalithaa if she ever loved MGR so…’

Simi Garewal did not beat around the bush when she asked Rekha about her relationship with Amitabh Bachchan, and Rekha was as honest as she could be.

Simi Garewal is celebrating her 76th birthday on Tuesday. (Photo: Express Archives)

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In her classic white outfits, veteran actor Simi Garewal has interviewed many celebrities over the years. But out of the many high profile interviews that Simi has conducted, there are a few that are remembered even 20 years later and one of those is with film actor Rekha. Rekha, who was a star in the 1970s and 1980s, was quite frank about her opinions back in the day but it was rare to see Rekha speak on camera about Amitabh Bachchan.

For the unversed, this was the interview where Simi directly asked Rekha about her love for Amitabh Bachchan, and without mincing her words, Rekha answered as honestly as she could. Years later, when Simi was asked about this interview, she said that asking this question to Rekha was “easy.” She told The Indian Express in 2015, “It was easy asking her the question about Amitabh. If I can ask Jayalalitha if she ever loved MGR, asking Rekha about Amitabh was much easier. A lot of people ask me how I got her to open up. I didn’t know if I did anything special. I don’t want to analyse it. I just chatted as good friends. Rekha and I go back a long way.”

Simi Garewal with Rekha on the set of Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. (Photo: Express Archives)

On the show, when Simi asked Rekha if she was ever in love with Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha promptly said, “Absolutely. Duh, that’s a dumb question.” She added, “I have yet to come across a single man, woman, child who can help but fall completely, passionately, insanely, desperately, hopelessly in love with him. So why should I be singled out? What do I deny? I’m not in love with him? Of course I am. Duniya bhar ka love aap le lijiyega (Take all the love in the world) and add some more – I feel that for that person. Bottomline.”

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Also Read | Simi Garewal’s rendezvous with primetime: India’s Oprah who asked Rekha about Amitabh Bachchan, Jayalalithaa about MGR

Even though Rekha admitted to her love for Bachchan, she said that she never had a personal relationship with him. “There was never a personal connection with him, that’s the truth. Never ever. There was no truth to the controversies and speculation.”

It was at the height of this controversy that Yash Chopra cast Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha in the love triangle Silsila. Since then, Amitabh and Rekha have not appeared in any film together. When Simi was asked about the same, she said, “After all that controversy, I don’t think it was an easy thing to happen. He is a married man with children and grandchildren. So much hungama happened that we couldn’t expect that to happen again but I do agree they make a lovely pair onscreen.”

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