Film journalist Yasser Usman examines the actor’s charm and legacy as she celebrates her 70th birthday on Thursday.
One of the most gorgeous figures in India, Rekha blazed a trail for future generations of Indian female performers while capturing the attention of the public and media for decades.
She was extensively covered in the 1970s for her metamorphosis from a boisterous, impolite young girl from southern India who had no understanding of Hindi when she entered Bollywood to a sophisticated National Award-winning performer who was full of confidence and spoke both Hindi and Urdu flawlessly.
However, the constant focus on her personal life had a negative effect, and she eventually retired from public life.
However, Rekha has repeatedly demonstrated throughout the previous few decades that the mystery that has surrounded her has only made viewers desire more.
She continues to win hearts and spark online sensations with nearly every public appearance.
Born as Bhanurekha in 1954 in Chennai (then Madras), she was severely impacted by the hardships faced by her mother, actress Pushpavalli, and grieved by her father’s absence, Tamil film star Gemini Ganesan.
She began acting while she was still a teenager, primarily due to financial struggles in her family. In the birthplace of Hindi cinema, Bombay (now Mumbai), she had to contend with a foreign language and a male-dominated field.
