There are two sides to Rekha’s sex appeal: the post-Sawan Bhadon sensuality of oozing oomph and uncontrollable appetites and the post-Umrao Jaan seductiveness of restrained emotions trickling out in a poetic tumble. Both the Rekhas are cultivated products. And yet many of her diehard admirers swear by her husky appeal, her almond eyes and chocolate demeanour.
Happy Birthday Rekha: Muzaffar Ali on his Umrao Jaan, “Rekha Ganesan is not born every day. She is born to create and be remembered”
Regarded as the Mother India of Rekha’s career, in Umrao Jaan the character of the Lucknowi courtesan whose adventurous life is defined and defiled by the various men she encounters, Rekha was pure dynamite on screen. Director Muzaffar Ali has gone on-record to say that she would often disappear from location. But who cares! Rekha wowed audiences with her interpretation of Asha Bhosle’s timeless Mujras.
Rekha could have been one of the greats of Hindi cinema, and she probably is. But her bewitching beauty and searing talent never attained the excellence that they were meant to. Some of her best performances, for example in Jabbar Patel’s Musafir, Shashi Kapoor’s Utsav, Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug were ignored, whereas her hyped performances in Ghar, Khubsoorat (where she spent close to three hours mimicking Amitabh Bachchan) and Umrao Jaan were all about sighing and mumbling her lines. Rekha herself admitted she sleepwalked through Umrao Jaan.
Muzaffar Ali Speaks of Rekha:
“Some people who have entered the zone of classicism are beyond age. They just need to be gracious and grateful about the journey and the milestones! Rekha is certainly living this in life! I am fortunate to have been part of her journey and wish her all the best. A Rekha Ganesan is not born every day. She is born to create and be remembered. She has made certain ways of expressing a human predicament immortal. She was made for poetry and poetry was made for her. ‘Sar-e-rah unko ba ik nazar kabhi dekhiye to wahi ada. Wohi beniazi-e-mahvashañ vahi zulf ta ba kamar padi’ She will be the custodian of these art moments and it’s time she becomes a muse for a painter. One art transcending in another art. I have taken a shot at this and there is a lot waiting in the wings. Wish her a happy birthday,” he said.
Also Read: When Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha came face-to-face for the last time
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