Source: Shahid Mansoori

Gold Spot advertisement (1969). Before any of Rekhas Bollywood films were out, she modelled
for ads to earn extra money. This one was shot by Shyam Benegal.

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Left bottom: Poster of Sawan Bhadon (1970). Rekhas co-star Navin Nischol poked fun at her for
her weight and skin tone. She was literally painted white for the film.
Right top: Poster of Namak Haraam (1973). This was Rekhas first film with Amitabh Bachchan,
though they had no scenes together.
Right bottom: Poster of Do Anjaane (1976). This was Rekha and Amitabhs first major film
together. During a month-long shoot in Calcutta, they were seen together at Flurys tea room,
walking on Park Street and at dinners.
Above: Poster of Ganga Ki Saugandh (1978). Amitabh, Rekhas co-star in the film, reportedly beat
up a bystander at an outdoor shoot near Jaipur for making lewd remarks at Rekha.

Anticlockwise from top right: Poster of Mr Natwarlal (1979). The films unit was apparently baffled
by the usually lax Rekhas sincerity and punctuality while shooting with Amitabh.
Poster of Ram Balram (1980). Starring both Rekha and Amitabh, the film didnt do well and
marked a low point in Amitabhs career. The press had begun to write him off.
Amitabh and Rekha at a shoot.
Poster of Silsila (1981). Through the shooting of this film starring Amitabh, Rekha and Jaya
Bachchan, the director Yash Chopra feared a clash between Jaya and Rekha. At one point, shot
incomplete, Rekha reportedly walked off the sets.

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Source: Super magazine (December 1980)

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Previous spread, left top: Poster of Agreement (1980). Rekha was infamous for indiscriminately
signing forgettable B-grade films such as this one, because she was often the only working
member of her large family.

Courtesy Muzaffar Ali

Courtesy Muzaffar Ali

Source: Super magazine

A full-page spread of Rekha in Super magazine (December 1980). The accompanying text
mentioned her one very special man, as well as her unprofessionalism on film sets.

Top: Rekha and Naseeruddin Shah on the sets of Umrao Jaan (1981), the crowning glory of her
career. Rekha won the National Award for best actress for the film.
Bottom: Rekha on the sets of Umrao Jaan. Though he was not working in the film, Amitabh
Bachchan spent much time on its sets in Delhi, according to the director Muzaffar Ali.

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Poster of Umrao Jaan. Rekha was criticized for the premiere of the film being held at a time
when Amitabh Bachchan was critically injured and in hospital.

Poster of Utsav (1984). Publicized as a semi-erotic film, Utsav was seen as Rekhas desperate
attempt to counter a new brigade of younger actresses. It flopped.

Bottom: Poster of Khoon Bhari Maang (1988). This cult favourite is known for its 1980s style and
fashion. Rekha was thrown into a lake of crocodiles by Kabir Bedi in the film; she survived, had a
plastic surgery makeover, and took her revenge.

Courtesy Mala Kumar

Courtesy Mala Kumar

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Top: Poster of Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988). The film marked Rekhas comeback after a rough patch
in the mid 1980s. It was also Salman Khans debut film.

Rekha and Mukesh Agarwal at their friend Neeraj Kumars house in Delhi in 1990. Mukesh was
a businessman who was known to mount an enormous stallion to receive guests at his farmhouse
in Delhi. To everybodys shock, Rekha married Mukesh on 4 March 1990 in Bombay.

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Mala Kumar

Courtesy Saawan Kumar

Top: Akash Bajaj and Mukesh Agarwal in the late 1980s. Before Mukesh married Rekha, he
was reportedly involved with his psychotherapist Akash Bajaj, who had been treating him for
depression. Mukesh ultimately committed suicide on 2 October 1990, after his marriage with
Rekha broke down.
Bottom: Rekha with her secretary Farzana and Saawan Kumar at an award function in 2008.
Mukeshs family blamed Farzana for the breakdown of his marriage to Rekha and for his suicide.
They alleged that Farzana and Rekha were romantically involved.

Poster of Sheshnaag (1990). After Mukeshs suicide, people vandalized Sheshnaag posters and
blackened Rekhas face on them.

Bottom: Poster of Aastha (1997). Rekha played a bored housewife who became a prostitute in this
film known for its explicit love scenes.

Source: Getty Images

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Courtesy Sumant Batras Chitrashala Museum

Top: Poster of Madam X (1994). The film, shot a couple odd years after Mukeshs death, is
remembered for its outrageous costumes and styling. Rekhas career as a heroine was decisively
over by that time.

Rekha and Farzana at Esha Deols wedding reception in Bombay in 2012. Farzana can be seen
wearing her trademark androgynous suit. Her appearance has been compared to that of Amitabh
Bachchans.

Courtesy Manav Manglani

Rekha and Jaya Bachchan applauding Amitabh at the Star Screen Awards in Mumbai in 2016.
Rekha made her way over to Jaya when Amitabh went on stage to collect the best actor award for
Piku (2015).