Exquisite Rekha in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (मुकद्दर का सिकन्दर): 1978

 Exquisite Rekha in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (मुकद्दर का सिकन्दर)

The year of the Baap - Bete: Bollywood Nepotism since the early years

 

The exquisite costumes, jewellery and looks of the classic Umrao Jaan

 

The exquisite costumes, jewellery and looks of the classic Umrao Jaan 

Hair apparent: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Hair apparent: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan 

 

Rekha

 Iconic Indian beauty; Rekha 

Rekha in Basera (1981)

Rekha in Basera (1981)

In the memorable melodrama, at age 27, she was playing mother (well, step-mother) to actor Raj Kiran - who was in fact six years older than her! 

1981 was a hallmark year for Re'; 'twas the year of a whopping 14 film releases including critical acclaim (Umrao Jaan, Kalyug, Silsila) and box office hits. 

How the industry has changed; actors appeared in a dozen films a year, now superstars appear in a film every five to six years. 

 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for L'Oreal: Indian supermodel, actress, icon

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for L'Oreal: Indian supermodel, actress, icon 

Divya Bharti

Divya Bharti

Mamta Kulkarni: The Queen of Daft Quotes takes potshots at Rekha and Sridevi!

Young and dumb, when Mamta Kulkarni first appeared in Bollywood, the poorly educated daft non-actress gave so many quotable quotes that magazines lapped it up and published them verbatim. Her scandalous interviews, images and wardrobe sold tabloids like cheap hotcakes. There are too many stupid things she said back then - more so now (google and see her latest interviews) that we can't list them all here. She famously dropped her top to get to the top (that notorious Stardust cover and the infamy that followed) but with limited to non-existent acting talents, she didn't last long in the film industry. You can dance around with little to no clothes, but in the long run, if you don't have talent to back it up, you just can't last in the industry. Luck favoured her a little, then left her hanging. And now she's a wanted woman by the long arm of the law. The funny thing about karma, it serves slowly, albeit inevitably. Why does Mamta feature here? Well, one of the manyyyyyyyyyy idiotic things she said to the press stands out loud and clear in our mind. 

Kulkarni had the gall and nerve to say in print and in video, "Rekha and Sridevi are cosmetic beauties, not a natural beauty like me." 

She's also said nasty things about Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan, Shahrukh and others too. 

When we first read the quote, the first thought that came up was, "Was she high?! On crack?! Why suddenly take potshots at icons in the industry when they had never met or interacted with the little chit?  

With her increasingly bizarre posts on social media, clearly, the poor girl needs help. Sad. 

While the ones she took aim at will be remembered for their work, talent and career, Kulkarni for only her scandals, poor choices (in film and in life) and she'll end up a has-been, who never was... 

Rekha: Filmfare cover: Sept 1979

 Rekha: Filmfare cover: Sept 1979

Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang: Zenith of Bollywood's OTT costume, makeup, 80s fashion

Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang: Zenith of Bollywood's OTT costume, makeup, 80s fashion 

Released in the summer of 1988, the film is pure camp fun. Rekha delivers. And how. 

Rekha: If ever there was an Indian version of Dynasty...

 A very Joan Collins in Dynasty inspired look for Rekha. 

If ever there was a desi-fied version by Ekta Kapoor, who else but Re'?! 

Rekha by Rakesh Shreshta for MOVIE magazine

Rekha by Rakesh Shreshta for MOVIE magazine. 

Shot for a special edition celebrating 25 years of Rekha in the film industry.