Rekha (Actress)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rekha

• Does Rekha smoke: Not Known

• Does Rekha drink alcohol: Not Known

• Rekha is the illegitimate child of late South Indian actors Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli. His father even refused to acknowledge his paternity towards Rekha.

• Rekha has one real sister, five half sisters and one half brother from her father Gemini Ganesan.

• A travel freak, Rekha dreamt of becoming an air hostess in her younger days. However, she was rejected owing to her young age.

• She then started thinking of becoming a nun as her convent school housed many Irish nuns. Poor financial conditions, however, forced young Rekha to work in B and C grade Telugu films.

• During her initial days in the film industry, Rekha was always looked down upon because of her dark complexion and was sometimes even referred to as an ‘ugly duckling.’

• Apart from acting, Rekha has also given her voice-over for other veteran actresses. She dubbed for Neetu Singh in Yaarana (1981) and Smita Patil in Waaris (1988).

• On R. D. Burman’s behest, Rekha even took to singing. She sang two songs in her movie titled Khoobsoorat (1980).

• It is said that the Evergreen diva has no fashion stylist. Since day one, she has been picking up her own clothes and selecting hairstyles of her liking.

• Unlike most Bollywood stars, Rekha is known for being punctual.

• In the year 1982, Rekha was awarded the National Award in the Best Actress category for her movie Umrao Jaan (1982). Furthermore, recognizing her immense contribution to Indian cinema, the government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, India fourth highest civilian honour, in 2010.

• Rekha along with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was nominated to the upper house of parliament in 2012. Rekha was put on the standing committee on food, consumer affairs and civil supplies.

• A pure vegetarian, Rekha now likes to spend time in solitude. In an interview, she said that she now spends most of her time gardening and painting.

• In an interview in September 2024, Simi Garewal disclosed that Amitabh Bachchan had denied his rumoured relationship with Rekha on her show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. He mentioned that they only occasionally met at social functions and had nothing in common. When she asked Rekha about it, she called it a “dumb question” and denied ever being in a relationship with him.