Rekha is an Indian actress who has had a prolific career in Hindi films, and is acknowledged as one of the finest actresses of Indian cinema. She first appeared as a child artist in two Telugu-language films Inti Guttu (1958) and Rangula Ratnam (1966), but her career as a lead started with the Kannada film Operation Jackpot Nalli C.I.D 999 in 1969. In that same year, she starred in her first Hindi film, Anjana Safar, which was delayed for ten years due to censorship problems. Her first Hindi release was Sawan Bhadon (1970), a commercial success which established her as a rising star. She followed with roles in Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972), Kahani Kismat Ki (1973), and Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974), to mainstream success but little recognition for her acting, and press criticism of her looks and overweight. Rekha was motivated to improve her acting and appearance and managed a well-publicised transformation, both physically and in terms of her screen persona and command of the Hindi language. Her work in the 1976 drama Do Anjaane was better received, and critical recognition of her roles as a rape victim in Ghar and a courtesan in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career.
Through most of the 1980s and early 1990s, she was one of the leading actresses in Hindi cinema. Her comic role in Khubsoorat (1980) earned her a first Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Further mainstream success came with roles in a myriad of family and drama films such as Baseraa (1981), Silsila (1981), Ek Hi Bhool (1981), Jeevan Dhaara (1982), and Agar Tum Na Hote (1983). During this period, she extended her work into arthouse films, a movement of neo-realist films known in India as parallel cinema, often to favourable reviews. These films included Kalyug (1981), Umrao Jaan (1981), Vijeta (1982), Utsav (1984), and Ijaazat (1987). Her acclaimed portrayal of the eponymous classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. Her work during the decade included sporadic dubbing and playback singing. Having credited her physical change to diet and yoga practice, she released an exercise audio, Rekha's Mind and Body Temple (1983). A period of decline during the middle of the decade was followed by Khoon Bhari Maang, among the first of a new trend of women-centred revenge films, which starred Rekha in the role of a woman avenging her attempted murder by her husband, and earned her a second Best Actress Filmfare Award.
Her work was much less frequent in subsequent decades. Most of her films in early 1990s mostly met with lukewarm reviews and were rejected by the audience. She was cast in several parts similar to that in Khoon Bhari Maang, the great majority of which failed to leave a similar mark, except for considerable success with Phool Bane Angaray (1991). In 1996, she won a third Filmfare Award, in the Best Supporting Actress category, for her negative turn of an underworld don in the action thriller Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), one of the year's highest-earning Hindi films. She accepted parts in two controversial films: a Kama Sutra instructor in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996) and a housewife moonlighting as a prostitute in Aastha: In the Prison of Spring (1997), to critical acclaim but some public scrutiny. In the 2000s, she was praised for her supporting roles in the 2001 dramas Zubeidaa and Lajja, and started playing mother roles, among which was her role in the science fiction Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and its superhero sequel Krrish (2006). While her leading roles in the comedies Bachke Rehna Re Baba (2005) and Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana (2006) were met with disapproval by critics, her supporting part in Yatra (2006) was better reviewed. This was followed by a long hiatus from film work, during which she appeared twice over the following decade in Sadiyaan (2010) and Super Nani (2014).
Films Year Title Role Notes 1958Inti GuttuTelugu film (child artist) 1966Rangula RatnamTelugu film (child artist) 1969Operation Jackpot Nalli C.I.D 999 MonaKannada film (debut in lead role) 1970Amma KosamGeetha Telugu filmSawan BhadonChanda 1971Haseenon Ka Devata Sunita / ChhabiliElaanMala Mehta / MaryDost Aur DushmanRekhaSpecial appearanceSaaz Aur Sanam Pushpa1972Zameen AasmaanKalpanaSazaaCourtesanSpecial appearanceGora Aur KalaPhoolwaGaon Hamara Shaher TumharaParvati (Paro)Ek BecharaKavitaDo YaarSeemaDouble CrossRekhaRaampur Ka LakshmanRekha Chaudhary1973MehmaanSheelaKhoon KhoonRekhaKeematSudhaKashmakashSeetaKahani Kismat KiRekhaDharmaAsha/Radha Double roleBarkha BaharGangaAnokhi AdaNeeta GuptaNamak HaraamShyama1974Woh Main NahinAnjaliPran Jaye Par Vachan Na JayeJanniya/SheetalHawasHerself Cameo appearanceDuniya Ka MelaShyamaDo Aankhen1975ZorroZorroKahte Hain Mujhko RajaRinaDafaa 302Rajkumari RekhadeviDharmatmaAnuAakramanSheetalDharam KaramBasanti1976SuntanSaritaKhalifaRekhaKabeelaShobhaDo AnjaaneRekha Roy/Sunita DeviAaj Ka MahaatmaMalaNaginSunita1977Saal Solvan ChadyaWedding entertainerRam BharoseKiranKachcha ChorAshaFarishta Ya QatilDildaarLataChakkar Pe ChakkarShila SahiniAlaapRadha Kumari (Radhiya)Aap Ki KhatirSaritaImmaan DharamDurgaKhoon PasinaChandaPalkon Ki Chhaon MeinHerself Guest appearance1978Saawan Ke GeetRadhaRam KasamRadhaRahu KetuTulsiParmatmaDeepaMuqaddarKarmayogiRekhaBhola BhalaChampaAakhri DakuGanga Ki SaugandhDhaniyaGharAarti ChandraNominated–Filmfare Award for Best ActressKasme VaadeDancerSpecial appearanceDo MusafirBijliMuqaddar Ka SikanderZohrabaiNominated—Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award1979MuqablaQawwali singerSpecial appearanceMr. NatwarlalShannoJaani DushmanChampaPrem BandhanMahuaKartavyaNitaSuhaagBasantiDo ShikaariSunitaDelayed releaseAhinsaRadhaGol MaalHerself Cameo appearanceNaya BakraQawwali singerSpecial appearance1980Ram BalramShobhaMaang Bharo SajanaRadhaKhubsooratManju DayalWinner, Filmfare Award for Best ActressJudaaiGauriNominated–Filmfare Award for Best ActressKali GhataRekha/RashmiDouble roleJyoti Bane JwalaCourtesanSpecial appearanceJal MahalNamita/Gayatri Devi/RekhaAgreementMala MathurNeeyatRekhaAanchalTulsi1981Umrao JaanAmiran/Umrao JaanWinner, National Film Award for Best ActressSaajan Ki SaheliMoon-Moon DhawanChehre Pe ChehraDaisyKalyugSupriyaMangalsutraGayatri B. PrasadKhoon Aur PaaniChampaDaasiTaraSilsilaChandniBaseraaPurnima Kohli (Nima)Ghungroo Ki AwaazKajal/Kiran Gomes/RaniEk Hi BhoolSadhana SrivastavChashme BuddoorHerselfCameo appearance1982VijetaNeelimaMehndi Rang LayegiKalpanaGhazabJamunaJeevan DhaaraSangeeta ShrivastavNominated–Filmfare Award for Best ActressRaaste Pyar KeGauriApna Bana LoRoopadeviDeedar-E-YaarHusna1983Prem TapasyaBelaNishaanRitaFilm Hi FilmHerself Cameo appearanceMujhe Insaaf ChahiyeShakuntalaNominated–Filmfare Award for Best Supporting ActressAgar Tum Na HotePurnima Mehra/Radha BediDouble role1984Bindiya ChamkegiRadhaMaati Maangey KhoonShyamlee (Courtesan)Asha JyotiAshaBaaziAshaZameen AasmaanKanchan guptaUtsavVasantsenaJhutha SachAlkaPaan Khaye Siyan HamaarHerselfBhojpuri Film; Cameo appearance1985Ram Tere Kitne NamMrs. Radha Aloknath GuptaFaasleMayaJhoothiKalpana Srivastav1986Sadaa SuhaganLaxmiMusafirSaraswati PillaiInsaaf Ki AwaazInspector Jhansi RaniJaalAmita S. Singh / MeenabaiLocketShaluJanbaazOpera singer in the song "Pyaar Do Pyaar Lo"Special appearance1987Pyar Ki JeetSoniIjaazatSudhaApne ApneSharda KapoorSansarUma SharmaJaan Hatheli PeGeeta VermaKhazanaAnita Mathur1988Soorma BhopaliCameoKhoon Bhari MaangAarti Verma/JyotiWinner, Filmfare Award for Best ActressEk Naya RishtaAarti SaxenaBiwi Ho To AisiShalu MehraAkarshan Herself Cameo appearance 1989Kasam Suhaag Ki Surajmukhi/ShamaClerkMrs. Sneh KapoorSouten Ki BetiRadha S. VermaLadaaiShakuntala VermaBhrashtacharBhavaniBahuraniMadhuri/Malti Chaudhary1990SheshnaagChampaMera Pati Sirf Mera HaiSharda Dayal SharmaAzaad Desh Ke GulamBharti BhandariAmiri GaribiSonaAag Ka DaryaUnreleased film1991Yeh Aag Kab BujhegiProfessor RadhaPhool Bane AngarayNamrata SinghNominated–Filmfare Award for Best Actress1992Insaaf Ki DeviSadhana Verma1993GeetanjaliAnjali Mehra/Geeta Bhardwaj1994Madam XMadam X/Sonu Double role1995NishanaBhartiAb Insaf HogaJankidevi Prasad1996Aurat Aurat AuratSita VajpaiDelayed releaseKhiladiyon Ka KhiladiMayaWinner, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting ActressKama Sutra: A Tale of LoveRasa Devi (Teacher)1997Aastha: In the Prison of SpringMansiUdaanVarsha Sahay1998QilaYamini1999MotherAsha Britannia2000BulandiLakshmi2001ZubeidaaMaharani Mandira DeviCensorMs. ShrivastavMujhe Meri Biwi Se BachaaoKamini MathurLajjaRamdulaariNominated–Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress2002Dil Hai TumhaaraSaritaji2003BhootSaritaKoi... Mil GayaSonia MehraNominated–Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress2005Bachke Rehna Re BabaRukmini/Richa/GurpreetParineetaMoulin Rouge singer in the song "Kaisi Paheli Zindagaani"Special appearance2006Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana MayuriKrrish Sonia S. Mehra Nominated–Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress2007Yatra LajwantiOm Shanti OmHerselfCameo appearance 2010Sadiyaan Amrit2013Krrish 3 Sonia Mehra2014Super Nani Bharti Bhatia2015Shamitabh HerselfCameo appearance2018Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se Special appearance in "Rafta Rafta Medley"Cameo appearance
Television Year Title Role Notes 2020,2021,2023Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar MeiinHerself Promotion
Dubbing Year Title Role Actor Notes 1986Aakhree RaastaVinita BhatnagarSridevi1988WaarisParamjeet "Paro"Smita Patil1999SooryavanshamShardaJayasudhaRadhaSoundarya2021Bigg Boss 15Vishwa SuntreeReality show
Playback singing
Year Film Song Music director Notes 1980Khubsoorat "Qayda Qayda" R. D. Burman 1983Agar Tum Na Hote "Kal To Sunday Ki Chhuti" Ek Naya Rishta "Ehsaas Ka Sauda Hai" Khayyam
Exercise audio Year Title Notes 1983Rekha's Mind and Body Temple
See also List of awards and nominations received by Rekha
Footnotes
References
Bibliography