Amitabh + Rekha pair – to set ablaze screen again?
No doubt if Amitabh and Rekha – two complementary actors come together again in a film then that film surely will be a film to revive the policy of
watchinhg the film in “First day First Show”.
Recently rumour was there in the air that Sanjay Leela Bhansali might be the lucky Director who could bring charismatic pair of Amitabh and Rekha in a film.
People always believed that there was some real life romance between Amitabh and Rekha though their last film together(Silsila) came in 1982 but people still believe that they were in love and film was based on their real life story.
Linking actors together is not a new phenomenon and it has been in fashion since the starry days of Ashok Kumar.
Amitabh never attended media in his super starry days though media has been printing a lot about him. In the film “ Khoobsurat” Rekha was praised a lot for her performance and was termed as Lady Amitabh Bachchan. She even did a mimicry act of AB in the film.
According to media, Rekha had given credit to AB for her acting ability and a statement of AB was published (who knows if journalists were able to meet him?) that “I do not know why Rekha is giving credit to me. I did not teach anything to her”.
Starting from ” Do Anjane” this electrifying pair have appeared in
“Alaap“, “Imaan Dharm“, “Khoon pasina“, ” Ganga ki saugandh“, “Muqaddar ka sikandar“,” Mr Natwar Lal“,” Suhaag“, “Ram Balram“, and Silsila.
Well Silsila ended their pairing together and film was not commercially successful inspite of the propaganda that it was based on their real life story. Even somebody wrote a book on Rekha where he had quoted one incidence that Jaya Bachchan had invited Rekha on dinner and had said,” she would not leave Amit, Rekha may do whatever she wants”. If we watch Silsila carefully then similar event and dialogues are there in the film where Jaya asks Rekha, what she wants. …. God knows how on earth an author got a clue of any such event if it happened ever? Who told him about such meeting ? Who among Jaya and Rekha told him ?
This author even mentioned another incidence that When Hema Malini got married to Dharmendra then Rekha was very happy and she rushed to the Chunky Pande’s mother, a doctor, who was a common friend of both Hema and Rekha.
Chunky’s mother asked Rekha why she was so happy after knowing about Hema’s Marriage? Rekha replied” unkee shadi ke baad mere liye bhee koi rasta niklega” ( After her marriage some solution would come my way also).
Question arises again that who told the media or this particular author about any such discussion happened between Rekha and Mother of Chunkey Pande?
Such media efforts always fueled the rumours about Rekha – Amitabh affair. Incidently one of hindi author (perhaps Ajit Roy) who was disciple of Dr Hari Vansh Rai Bachchan had asked him about the truth behind these rumours through a letter in 1981 or 82, when talks of Rekha+AB’s romance were hot, and Dr Bachchan had replied that it was all rumour.
When AB had got serius injuries during shooting of Coolie and was admitted in Breach candy hospital, then rumours were spread that Rekha was also there in the Hospital requesting to donate her blood if AB needed but Jaya showed her exit. Jaya stopped Rekha to visit and see AB.
It made story of AB and Rekha’s romance a thing of the past but again there was a time around 1986-88 when newspapers and filmi magazines used to write that Mithun Chakravorty and SriDevi were in love and Rekha was said to be the Guru of Sri Devi in Bombay as she had tought her Yoga. Rekha had dubbed dialogues of Sri Devi in Akhiri Raasta and it was said thet Rekha did it for the sake of Amitabh. Gossip columns again were filled with stories that Mithun and Amitabh used to meet Sri Devi and Rekha respectively in a bunglow of a common friend. [Again question arises if such sceret meetings were happening then who was disclosing them to media? ]
And then one fine day people read the news of marriage of Rekha with an Industrialist Mukesh Aggarwal. Mukesh later committed suicide and Rekha again became busy in her film career with a hit film Khoon Bhari Maang. That marriage and subsequent widowhood stopped rumours about continuation of AB’s romance with Rekha and made it a event happened in the past. Now media and people started believing that it was there when they were working together. Media has been very experimental with Rekha and later she was linked with Raj Babbar also, after Smita Patil’s death, and some enthusiastic media people linked her to Akshay Kumar also when she appeared with him in Khiladiyon ke khiladi.
AB took 5 years sabatical from films and later he faced debacle of ABCL. Then Simi Grewal brought him in her popular TV show Rendezvous and asked about the stories of his alleged affair with Rekha. AB replied that it was not the case with Rekha only but he had been linked with all his heroines in the past whether it was Zeenat Aman or Parween Bobby. Jaya Bachchan also took this line. Later Simi was quoted in news papers that people did not believe him but I found it true what he was saying.
Rekha-Amitabh romance is such a thing that people dont want to listen even both the parties(Rekha and AB), they believe that both these film stars were having romance. Perhaps its juicy gossip for them and Silsila certainly added much fuel to this rumour and the fact that they did not work together after Silsila added extra weight to this story.
There was a time when it was rumoured that Abhishek Bachchan denied a role in RGV’s Bhoot because of Rekha’s presence in the film.
Rekha opted spiritual and philosophical tone in later years and always talked in philosophical manner and never said it cleary that what was the truth and it added a mystery touch to the story of their romance. On Simi Grewal’s TV show Rekha said,” Amitabh is the role model person in whose shoes I would like to enter”. She recited some poetry also which was befitting perfectly in the story.
In filmfare award ceremony Rekha recited something like “tum raze wafa kya jano”. For people who always believed in the affair between Rekha and AB, every such thing was adding a new chapter to the story and they now started believing that atleast Rekha was loving Amitabh and even if it was one sided love, it was sufficient for people to believe that perhaps AB also became weak for some time in later 70s and early 80s and it was there but now they have matured and controlled their emotions.
During shooting of Black AB was asked if he can work with Rekha and he had replied he had no problem in working with any actor or actress.
Now came AB’s 64th Bday in october 2006 and What Rekha offers in Filmfare from her side.
[ "Memories come rushing back like drops of rain pelting my head. Every drop of rain, a tender emotion, every sheet of water releases a frisson of feelings. Its so easy to gush about someone who has been an inexorable part of my life for over three decades now.
Amitji has been a part of my consciousness ever since I saw him create magic on screen in Parwana playing the intense, silent yet obsessive lover opposite Yogeeta Bali. Incidentally, Yogeeta was the one who introduced us at Madras airport.
Whatever I am as an actor, I owe 100 per cent to him. I just soaked in whatever he had to offer just observing him. There is no learning like first-hand experience. In that sense, Amitji who is an institution has been my school, my college, my university. And mind you, he has never ever taught me anything or helped me with my scenes or stuff like that. Just his presence and spirit contributed to my metier as an actor and as a human being.
He is like my inner conscience which guides me through life and my performances. The conscience does not consciously teach you anything. It's always there. You just tap into it whenever you need it. As time goes by, I believe it's more and more real, like the voice of God. You may not get to see it but you feel it all the time. Because Amitji is so real, his consistency is so real. The simplicity and beauty of it is that he knows no other way.
For someone like me who has grown up in an atmosphere without any role models, when I met this person jinhone apna ek muqammal mahol bana liya tha, I was totally fascinated.
He was the perfect son, the perfect father and the perfect husband.
As far as his friends go, Amjad (Khan) bhai and Amitji apart from being fellow Librans were very close. We were in Goa when Amjad bhai met with a car accident. He was very critical. We were all in Goa, I was shooting Do Musafir with Shashiji, while Amitji was shooting for the Great Gambler with Zeenat. We stayed at the same hotel. I remember looking out of the restaurant window, Amitji at the poolside in the dead of the night weeping copiously, looking totally lost and didibai silently comforting him. Thankfully Amjad recovered soon enough.
Amitji is not childhish, he is childlike. He is an old soul with a child's mind. The way in which he is still maintained his boyish charm never ceases to amaze me. Like I said, it is the perfect paradox as he is a blend of innocence and wisdom.
The world believes that Amitji and I had huge chemistry.
I must confess that I am not by nature the kind who analyses or dissects every experience of my life. I am reminded of Gulzar bhai's lines which succinctly express my situation:
Humne dekhi hain in aakhon ki mehekti khusboo…
haat se chuke inhe rishton ka ilzaam na do…
ek ehsaas hai yeh rooh se mehsoos karo…
pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koi naam na do…
When people talk to me about this on screen appeal the Pardesiya sequence from Mr Natwarlal comes to mind. Amitji and I were choreographer Kamal master as favourites. So he w'd work out steps for us accordingly. I think that fluidity comes into play here. And the camera caught that. I was pleasantly surprised to find my partner in dance sequences who complemented me in every step. My fans write to me that the Yeh kahan aa gaye from Silsila is one of my most romantic songs ever and keep asking me if it was for real. What can I say but that it's the power of the magical movies. And somehow the audience also catches on and wants to believe that vibe is for real. Or else how do you explain a song like that becoming such a universal rage?
After Ram Balram, we didn't get a chance to work together for a long time until Silsila. My loss is that I didn't get a chance to share the phenomenal growth of Amitji as an actor. So would you blame me for being thrilled when his producers requested me to dub for Neetu Singh in Yaaraana, Sridevi in Aakhri Raasta, Jayasudha and the late Soundarya in Suryavansham?
When fans write to me and question why we haven't worked together after Silsila, the only rational answer that I can think of is that the wait to be able to co-star with Amitji is worth it. That everything happens for the right reason at the right time. And I am attribute that to the better judgment of the directors who believe that they have yet to come across something worthy of our calibre. I truly believe that sabr ka phal meetha hota hai. In this case, time is not of the essence. That I know for sure.
One of my favourite movie with Amitji is Silsila. I remember the dialogue, Dukh toh is baat ka hai ke maine anjaane mein tumhe dukh pahunchaaya hai.How can love and passion be performed more real than that? What a phew-nomenal piece of craft."
]
Will media and people ever believe what Rekha says?
or all people will go on believing endlessly that there was an affair between Amitabh and Rekha ?
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Sure…that will definitely happen as soon as shahrukh and kajol star together in a movie again.
Interesting…
Wish someone would cover IFFI on PFC…
amithabh bachan and rekha was the best couple if they get married becuse they both look very nice in the films i wish if this happend but even jaya bachan she also nice magar jo bat rekha maine haine wo kisse maine nahi haine rekha dekhney maine bouth achi haine aur amithabh kay sath tu wo aur bhi achi lag thi magar kiya kare wohi hona haine jo manzzori kuddah kare aur ek baat aur mujey rekha bouth achi lagthi haine maine uski koi bhi movie nahi chori uski acting,dance, bouth acha haine aur muskarana wo tu aur bhi acha haine
:)chalo rekha app ko kuddah bouth sari kushaya dey.
surely,amitabh rekha pair was the no.1 romantic sensation……i wish they would meet again at least in reel life…
best article regarding journalism point of view
i have always feel happy and over joy when ever i watch the pair of them in a movie. i hope oneday they will once againg act together in another romantic film.
bkuhuh
We are constantly talking with our family and saying that one day we wish to see Rekha and AB acting together making a comeback with the great stars absolutely phenomenal and creat history one more time.
Comeon now…the world at large is waiting for you both…and waiting to embrace our favourite couple of alltime.
All the best!
Rekha and Amitjee were the best on screen pair. A comeback will really send the world reeling and will astound people crazily. If ever, it is only going to impact with such great velocity that it will in totality replace all the successes of Amitjees movies after having last acted with Rekha.
They are truly a matchmaking pair onscreen and
offscreen. So all you producers and directors out there please let it happen soon.
:-j:-j
big b has said in Indore that he has no problem in doing films with rekha…soon v can c them together…
as jaya bachchan also does films now…so perhaps yash chopra shd make sequel of silsila…
Rekha and Amitabh had an affair that lasted for almost a decade. It seems that he used to visit Rekha regularly at her Bandra apartment. All the residents of that building are witness to this extra marital affair of Amitabh. Though, Amitabh and Rekha are good actors, they can not be compared to Jaya Bachhan who is one of the best actors that Hindi cinema has ever produced. It is sad that Amitabh doesn’t know the worth of his wife.
@madhura…
what makes u say amitabh doesnt knw the worth of his wife…..
the fact that he is still with her today clearly should clear ur misconception
12…
do u live in same apartment where big b used 2 visit rekha?
nd y u think big b does not know worth of his wife jaya bachchan…
he praises her in every interview…he is married 2 her …nd live happily since 1973-74…
whtelse u need…
big b shd dance on gate way of india 2 declare that he luves his wife?BB
ridiculous thoughts…
14…
No man who really loves his wife would cheat on her. Wake up.
This posting is in very poor taste. What will be posted next? An analysis of Aamir cheating on his wife with Kiran during Swades or Saif cheating on his wife with Rosa. Or speculation on Govinda’s affair with Rani or Shahruk’s sexuality? Or the legal trouble of Sanjay and Salman?
How is their off screen personal life relevant to what we see on screen?
I guess I expect a higher standard from PFC instead of tabloid fodder.
Am zapped to find such a write-up on PFC… Please dont make this wonderful place a forum for discussing news that firs the headlines of tabloids only….
Am zapped to find such a write-up on PFC… Please dont make this wonderful place a forum for discussing news that fits the headlines of tabloids only….
This was written in 2006. Surprised to find people talking about this in 2008!!!!
Most of what is mentioned has been written originally that was read by Gen-X in the 1980s… if you aren’t a Gen-X generation, you have no clue where this article originates from.
Of course, AB is going to CLAIM that he loves his wife since he has been living with her for the sake of the children and, it is probably too late in life to leave the family with children and daughter in law.
having said that, it is clear that he have ethernal love for soulful and sensual Rekha.
Many good actors can portray to be good lovers in the movies, but AB and Rekha portray the true soul connection in the movies.
I feel truly sorry for Rekha for in with a man who will never become hers!!!!
Hi folks,
My point was that men like Amitab would have fun with women like Rekha, but will cleverly keep their marriages saved.
Poor women like Rekha who have true love end up with a broken heart and no family since they dedicate their youth and precious years to the relationship/love.
Wives like Jaya Bachan also suffer since they have no choice but to stay in marriage for the sake of family and for the sake of society’s set values.
Either way, women suffer; and, men have their cake and eat it too!! Which is cruel!.
Don’t take me wrong, I am fond of Amitab, the actor; but, hate Amitab, the man.
DEAR REKHA JI HAPPY BIRTHDAY & HAPPY DIWALI
ME US DIN KA INTZAR KAR RAHA HU JAB AAP AMIT JI KE SATH EK BAAR FIR PARDE PAR DIKHENGI.
Rekh ji apki ijjat karta huin muje ye bee pata hei ye sie deama kar rahi par isko mera msg. apke pas bejna padega agar pahun jaye to call karna joothe or jotthi ki call to mein pahchan ho jaunga vaise mein 42yrs. Jawan ya budda huin agar app karengi to muje pata chal jayega kyonki mein adyatam mein vishwas rakhta huin bagwan ki bakti mein or mere gureu ne sikhyaya hei ki nirgura kisi ko bee nahi hinas chahiye mein sirf apse adyatam ke baree mein baat karna chahta huin bekar ki batein nahi agar adyatam ka matlab nahi samje to pehle adyatam ka matlab samjana shyad akshay kumar ( Rajeev Bhatiya bata sake) Film star phir call karna agar hacker ke pas ye msg. ja raha hei to vo bee bagwan ko yad kare….jasa karega vaisa barega YE SIRF OR SIRF REKHA FILM STAR HINDI FILMS KE LIYE HEI koi bee gadha iska misuse na kare Nahi pahunch sakta to koi bat nahi mein adyatam se ………?
Spelling mein kuch misrake hein parntu ph. ane ya mail ane par clear kar dunga kyonki mein typing or internet chalana nahi janta kaffi der internet ka bahut bill dekar ye mail beja hei
pl. unsubcribe me from this service, I WANT MY TO MAKE A FRESH ( PURE SATVIK REALATED TO ADAYATAM JISE NAAAM KAHTE HEIN NAAM KI MAHIMA KE BARRE MEIN BATANA CHAHTA HUIN) KUCH HACKRO NE SANDESH KHRAB KAR DIYA HEI KYONKI MEIN COMPUTER SAVVY NAHI HUIN, PAR BLOG MEIN PASSION… PAR HI BANUYUNGA.
For me you couple are no. 1 & the best, not only for me i think for whole world you are the no.1 couple. I wish to see both of you together reel life atleast…….
Come on aab jidd chodo bhi, apne liye nahin to duniya ke liye atleast……..
Whole world is waiting…….
we are waitng for you both to come together in reel.
When Rekha came to Canada in 80’s I went to her show. She was drunk and only sang Amitab’s songs and shouted she loves Amit Ji.
It has been very interesting to read about Amit& Rekha I am a close follower of their relation and films.I was recently curious to see recently in Idea film fare function Rekha with sindoor in her mang.Was IT FOR Amitji since he was present also??????I could not find any event otherwise of Rekha ’s marriage.Can any one reply?Any old is gold andfirst love is always strong.
when can we expect to see a film with amitabh bachchan and rekha? they are the best pair ever to hit the hindi cinema. are any producers looking?
look no further if you want to make money and have an audience. i hope karan johar can read this or maybe yash chopra.
I feel sorry for Rekha for falling in love with a trecherous man who was not worthy of her. Jaya Bachan has destiny no.1. Which means successful marriage and life or whatever she wants to do. Amitabh also is of Destiny no.1. Jaya may be a good actress but not good looking or fit to be a heroine. Nature wise she is selfish and ungrateful. I pray for soulful and loving Rekha that God compensates her for the intense solitude in this life when all she wanted was a husband and family where as undeserving Jaya got everything in the plate…Rekha is stunningly beautiful even today and she makes a lot of effort to keep herself trim and tries to please people including Amitabh AN UNWORTHY PERSON.