Every now and then I will post a feature on an Ultimate Bollywood Diva - and who better to start with than the ever elegant, the evergreen and ultra talented Rekha.
Born October 10th 1954, Rekha started her career as a child in the 1966 Telugu film Rangula Ratnam at the age of 11. She then went on to appear in a few other films before finally being recognised as a lead heroine in Bollywood in 1970's Sawan Bhadon. It took until 1976 for Rekha to finally be recognised as a talented performer with 1976's Do Anjaane with Amitabh Bachchan which was a major success.
1978 would prove to be a fruitful year for the young actress as she scored the biggest hit of the year and her career 'til date with Muqaddar Ka Sikander again co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. The film earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress nomination (which she lost to Reena Roy). The year also saw her critically acclaimed performance in the film Ghar - also earning her a nomination for Best Actress at Filmfare (losing to Nutan).
1980's Khubsoorat earned her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress (she was also nominated for Judaai); whilst 1981's Umrao Jaan earned her a National Award for Best Actress. 1982's Jeevan Dhara earned her another Filmfare nomination (awarded to Padmini Kolhapure). Whilst 1983's Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye bagged her another nod (awarded to Shabana Azmi). Hit films continued and her popularity soared. She was now the number one actress in bollywood, overtaking Hema Malini. For the rest of the decade Rekha enjoyed success in commercial and parallel cinema. Concluding with 1989's Khoon Bhari Maang - earning her another Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Throughout the ninetees Rekha pushed barriers for actresses and delved into Action films. 1991's Phool Bane Angaarey once again saw her shortlisted for Filmfare's Best Actress Award (lost to Sridevi). She earned awards for her portrayal as a villainess in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) starring opposite Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon.
The noughties brought more critical and commercial success. A further 3 nominations for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Lajja (2001), Koi Mil Gaya (2003), Krrish (2006).
The ultimate diva of Bollywood graces the major awards shows to this day looking as glamorous as ever.
Current divas to have worked with her include: Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Urmila Matondkar, Mallika Sherawat.
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