Even today she can be a game changer when it comes to fashion. Enigmatic and seductive is what we’d call her. Back in those days when stylists were unheard of, Rekha showed us how a quintessential movie star should dress up. When most actresses were mere girls next door, she added panache to the heroine on screen.
Her height added to her stature, her swan like neck gave her elegance. And her jaw line enhanced her oomph. Even today whether she dons the Western or the ethnic look, Rekha remains peerless. While the other actresses move with their entourage, Rekha travels light. She was and still is a one-man, make that woman, army.
70s inception
As a rookie, Rekha wasn’t the diva you recognize today. Looking at her plump self, no one would have an inkling that she’d one day become the country’s style icon. Like any other 13 year old, she was more interested in eating, playing truant on the sets than in the clothes she wore. Fitness was a word she hadn’t heard as yet. But it was her innate confidence on screen that caught the eye of cineastes. Her debut film Sawan Bhadon was a super hit and that set the ball rolling for this teenager. Movies like Gora Aur Kala, Raampur Ka Lakshman, Kahani Kismat Ki saw her at her undemanding best.
The mid ’70s saw the beginnings of the by now famous transformation. Some say it was only after she came in contact with Amitabh Bachchan that she started grooming herself. And you could see her efforts in movies with him like Do Anjaane, Khoon Pasina, Muqqaddar Ka Sikander, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Jaani Dushman and many more.
80s Indi spunk
It was in the ’80s that Rekha came into her own. She had the mother of all makeovers. Gone was the tubby teenager who had no clue about her eyeliner or the colour of her lipstick. And a svelte woman stood in front of you or rather blazed the screens with a beauty so incandescent that you couldn’t take your eyes off her. While the Zeenat Amans and the Parveen Babis wooed the audience with their Western appeal, it was Rekha’s ethnic taste that appealed to the audience big time. Kanjeevaram sarees, red bindi between the eyebrows, chunky gold glitter and bold
red lips defined her on screen. Off screen, the Indian women went crazy trying to get her look. Movies like Khubsoorat, Neeyat, Kalyug, Silsila, Umrao Jaan, Prem Tapasya, Maati Maangey Khoon, Utsav, Ijaazat, Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai showcased the quintessential Rekha for posterity. But she was versatile if anyone ever was. If she looked ethereal in her Indian look, she wowed when she went Western. See Khoon Bhari Maang and Jaal and you’ll know what we mean.
This was the time when Rekha became adventurous while doing photo shoots for magazines. She stunned with her styling and her new looks in each shoot. This was also the time when she got conscious about her fitness. Like the many other trends that she started, Rekha was the first one to come out with her fitness video, Mind And Body Temple.
90s dressed to the nines
Her name had become synonymous with style, fashion and everything feminine. She continued to reinvent herself through the ’90s. Every time she made a public appearance, the curiosity about what she wore, her make up and her hair style shot through the roof. Mithun Chakraborty once famously remarked, “Hers is the one face
that you never tire of seeing.” So whether it was feathers, weird hair styles, long boots, jeans, shells on her head, teddy bears on her plaits, intriguing headgear, she did it all. Some would say she was our own homegrown Lady Gaga. She celebrated herself in movies like Madam X, International Khiladi, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi and Insaaf Ki Devi. Is it any wonder that she was chosen to play the sex guru Maya in Kamasutra. She breathed sensuality in her role. As for her photoshoots, she continued to give style a new meaning every time.
2000s eternity
She may have become a version of Greta Garbo today, more reclusive than a recluse. But her fashion
lives on in our minds. That’s the mark of a true icon!
She continued to awe us even in the 2000s. Those who relegated her to playing older woman roles were indeed stunned when she blazed the screen with her item number in Parineeta. Kaisi paheli hai yeh zindagi, indeed! She may have stepped into older woman roles now.
But even today when she makes an outing, every one clamours to see what she’s wearing. Her public appearances are restricted to award functions. But enough newsprint is still spent on dissecting her look. And now with her in the Rajya Sabha, it ought to raise even more eyebrows... Guess once a diva always a diva!
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