Umesh Mehra: Rekha Ji’s name conjures glitz, glamour and magic – Exclusive

Elaan was a film produced by my father more than 50 years ago and it was quite a significant film as it had then upcoming stars Vinod Khanna, Vinod Mehra and Rekha. I have a very vivid memory of Rekha coming to our house in Sherman Apartments at Napean Sea Road. Rekha came to meet my father, FC Mehra, the producer of Elaan along with either her mother or her then secretary. My friends and I, all of 16 and 17 years old, were playing cricket in the corridor outside our home. The next thing we know, Rekha joined us for the game of cricket. She couldn’t be concerned with what film was being planned or what role was being considered for her.

She was very bubbly and outgoing. She was a very happy person. She was part of all the shouting and shenanigans that happen when you play cricket with the boys. I did visit the sets after school but I didn’t have much interaction with Rekha until much later. Those days I wasn’t really active in films. After college I joined Shammi (Kapoor) ji as an assistant director on Manoranjan (1974). I did my first film Humare Tumhare (1979), Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1980) and then Ashanti (1979).  After that, when I was working on Jaal (1986) during the casting process I couldn’t see beyond Rekha. Even though I had worked very well with Zeenat Aman – I was an assistant on Manoranjan where she was the lead. Plus, she had done many films of mine including Ashanti and Alibaba Aur 40 Chor.  

Coming back to Rekha, When Jaal was being planned, I knew it had to be Rekha. When I narrated the subject to her, she was quick to grab on to the situation. Mithun had a great role and so did the other girls Moon Moon Sen and Mandakini, but the film and thrust of the story belonged to Rekha. In my humble opinion she did a fantastic job with her performance and I feel she deserved all the awards but that’s another story. The film worked wonders and had a superb box office run. After that, she did a number of films where she was the central character. It was almost like a second innings for Rekha’s career. Rekha is a great actress and a wonderful person if you know her. Despite working with Dilip Kumar, who was in a double role In Qila (1998), she put in an outstanding performance. We worked together before in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) where she again played the central character opposite Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon. By then, we’d already built a bond of trust. She won the Filmfare award for Khiladi…

I also remember an instance where Rekha ji had to play a sort of westernized bombshell role in a very fancy western costume and she comes dressed up with Mithun, who is playing a Michael Jackson kind of character in Jaal. Rekha ji was wearing a gorgeous dress but she was looking a little overweight. I remember telling her, “Rekha you know what, this is not going to work. This dress is not looking good on you.” She said, “Okay. no problem. Can you cancel the shoot today? I will come back in 48 hours.” In 48 hours she had changed her body shape, she slimmed down and you can see her wearing the same dress and looking absolutely gorgeous. That’s the spirit with which Rekha ji works. Rekha the name conjures up more than just southern spice. It’s a lot of glitz, glamour woman power and yeah, ultimately magic.