Reena Roy

Some Lesser Known Facts About Reena Roy

• Reena Roy is an Indian actress, who worked in many popular Hindi films like ‘Nagin’ (1976). She was once one of the highest-earning actresses in Bollywood. ^[4]The Economic Times

• In her childhood, she was a tomboy. ^[5]The Times of India

• She started her career as a model in 1970. She was once featured in a TV commercial for Lux Soap.

  

• In the initial years of her acting career, she acted in various Hindi films such as ‘Jaise Ko Taisa’ (1973), ‘Umar Qaid’ (1975), ‘Zakhmee’ (1975), and ‘Barood’ (1976) which failed to do well at the box office.

  

• At the beginning of her career, she did not know dancing. Some media sources shared that she was so bad at dancing that she used to make her co-stars fall on the ground. Later, she trained under various dance teachers.

• In 1976, she played the lead role in the Hindi film ‘Nagin,’ which became a breakthrough in her career. There were rumours that the two actresses in the film Reena and Rekha did not share a good bond on the sets of the film. It is said that when Rekha came to know that in the film Reena’s outfits were more expensive than Rekha’s, she got very upset. Rekha immediately asked the director of the film to change her (Rekha’s) outfit. Even after discussion, Rekha did not agree to continue to work in the film until her outfits were replaced with expensive outfits. Later, the director and producer agreed to it. ^[6]Zee News

  

• In around 22 Hindi films, she was paired with the Indian actor Jeetendra. Some of such films are ‘Badaltey Rishtey’ (1978), ‘Pyaasa Sawan’ (1982), ‘Apnapan’ (1977), ‘Aasha’ (1980), and ‘Arpan’ (1983).

  

• She then acted in a few Punjabi films such as ‘Sat Sri Akal’ (1977) and ‘Walayati Babu’ (1981).

  

• In the 1983 Hindi film ‘Nastik,’ she was selected for the female lead. However, she was replaced by Hema Malini.

• In 1991, she worked as a producer in the Hindi film ‘Gunehgar Kaun.’

• When she was 19 years old, she worked with the Indian actor Shatrughan Sinha for the first time. Despite their age gap of 11 years, their friendship turned into love. However, Reena’s mother was not happy with her relationship with an elder man and warned her to end her relationship with Sinha. Later, amid the rumours of their marriage, Sinha gave a shock to his fans by tying the knot to the Indian model and actor Poonam. Even after this, Reena continued her relationship with Sinha. Poonam never went vocal about her husband’s extramarital affair and often passed insulting comments about Reena and Sinha’s relationship. ^[7]India Today In an interview, Poonam said that,
  

  Gradually, Reena also realised that her dream of marrying Sinha would never come true. Also, she was fed up with being a second choice of Sinha. Eventually, she decided to distance herself from him.”

• After a few years of her marriage to the Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan, she decided to part ways with him as she was not able to adjust to his lavish lifestyle. She said that she felt very lonely as her husband used to stay away from home for his matches. Her husband even wanted her to apply for British citizenship. However, she was not happy with her marriage and took a divorce from him. The custody of their daughter was given to Mohsin Khan.

• After a break of around five years from Bollywood, she appeared in the 1993 film ‘Aadmi Khilona Hai.’ The film failed to do well at the box office.

• She then acted in a few more Hindi films like ‘Policewala Gunda’ (1995), ‘Kalyug Ke Avtaar’ (1995), ‘Smuggler’ (1996), and ‘Gair’ (1999). In 2000, after appearing in the Hindi film ‘Refugee’ (2000), she quit the Hindi films.

• Reena started her acting school in 2004 along with her sister.

• She has also appeared in a few Hindi TV serials like ‘Rani Mahal’ (2015) which aired on Sony.

• In an interview, she shared that in her younger days, she was a huge fan of the Indian actor Rajesh Khanna. She waited for eight years to get a role in the film with Rajesh Khanna. She said that she was one of the girls who used to wait outside Rajesh’s home to get a glimpse of him. ^[8]The Economic Times

  

• When she was young, she was fond of riding horses and travelling to different places on her motorcycle.

  

• She was paired in around 16 Hindi films with the Indian actor Shatrughan Sinha.

• Reena has been featured on the cover of various magazines such as Cine Blitz, Filmfare, Madhuri, and Rangbhoomi.

  

• Various media house often compares her looks with the Indian actor Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of her ex-boyfriend Shatrughan Sinha. In an interview, while talking about it, Reena Roy said that Sonakshi looked like her mother Poonam Sinha and not her. She said,
  

  I think Salman Khan’s family has given a very typical Indian look that resembles my look on screen. When I did Zakhmee, I was called Asha Parekh and Nasir Hussain’s daughter. Dimple was referred to as Nargis’s daughter. Film industry mein toh yeh silsila chalte rehta hai. Kuch din baad khatam ho jaata hai.”

  

• In 2004, the rumours of her joining the Indian National Congress started after she campaigned for the party.

• In July 2021, a special episode on her was made by the reality show ‘Indian Idol Season 12.’ She was invited as a special guest in the show.

• Reportedly, when she was at the peak of her career, she received letters from her fans which were written in blood. ^[9]The Times of India