by: Roshmila Bhattacharya

Rekha was just 13 years old when she came to Mumbai, the city of dreams. But unlike other starry-eyed teenagers she didn't want to reach out for the stars. Rekha, believe it or not, was a reluctant actress. It had taken her mother a lot of coaxing and cajoling to get her to try for a break in Hindi films. And even then Rekha had laid down her condition--just one film and then she'd take off across the seven seas and live life in the fast lane.

It didn't take this child woman long to bag her first film. The Pal brothers from Africa signed her for their first film opposite the rosy-cheeked Biswajeet. Fortunately for Rekha her Anjana Safar ended prematurely when the film ran into censor problems, because had the film been released Rekha would have been tied down to a 10-year-contract with Kuljeet and Shrujeet Pal and her career might have ended even before it had begun.

 However, by proving to the judge that she had been a minor when she put her signature to this binding contract, Rekha wriggled out of the stranglehold of the Pal brothers and made a more promising beginning with veteran producer-director, Mohan Sehgal's Saawan Bhadon. She had been spotted on the sets of Anjana Safar by Sehgal's publicist and recommended to the maker who was looking for a girl to star opposite Navin Nischol. Rekha was shocked when Mohan Sehgal signed her to play the romantic lead without even a screen test even though she honestly admitted to him that she could not dance, could not speak Hindi, in short do none of those things debutante heroines are expected to do and know. But Sehgal relied on his instincts which told him that the girl was gifted, and gave her a dream break in his film.

Sawan Bhadon was released in 1970 and celebrated a jubilee run in 34 centres across the country including Chennai. And Rekha signed 18 films in a week.

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