It happened back in the 80s that an alleged affair of Amitabh & Rekha occupied the cover story section of many magazines. Their great on & off-screen chemistry gave spark to this rumor. They never accepted the spiced up rumors about them. It all cropped up from the sets of “Do Anjaane” and finally reached paramount with the release of “Silsila”. Both have never said much about each other publicly. Amitabh was already married to Jaya before he met Rekha. Amitabh & Rekha used to meet each other in a bungalow owned by Rekha’s friend. There are even rumors that these two may have married each other as Rekha was patched wearing sindoor at Neetu Singh & Rishi Kapoor’s wedding. The rumor came in limelight due to varying explanations of Rekha about wearing sindoor to different journalists. To some she said she forgot to remove it while coming from sets whereas to others she said that ethnic wear of glamorous ladies is incomplete without sindoor. She had also expressed her will to make Jaya Bachchan feel insecure. Amitabh barely used to respond to her on-screen. If Amitabh had to marry Rekha, he had to divorce Jaya. Understanding Amitabh won’t do it, Rekha kissed Amitabh a goodbye.
Lesser Known Facts of the Controversy
- Rekha acclaimed that she got paranoid as she came to know that Amitabh Bachchan has signed for the film Do Anjane. The just-released film Deewar got a huge success due to the mesmerizing acting of Amitabh Bachchan and in his next film, Rekha had to share the screen with him.
- Rekha used to call Jaya Bachchan as “Didi Bhai” which means elder sister. She knew Amitji as her didi bhai’s husband but never got a chance to sit and talk together with Amitji. The amazing personality attracted Rekha towards him and she never could resist the attraction.
- As per Rekha’s words, Amitabhji was a gathering of talents and qualities and it fascinated her towards the person she came to know during the shooting days.
- Rekha never accepted the so-called high profile relationship between them but she never denied also. She said that she feels for Bachchanji and will keep feeling for him even if the world goes against her.
- It is heard that the film “Silsila” was made as to the decision. The Director of the film Yash Chopra pulled off the casting and it put oil on the fire. Many people say that the film was based on the real story of the life events of this trio.
- Rekha and Amitabh used to come together in a bungalow of Rekha’s friend. But it didn’t continue very long as things got revealed publicly.
- Though it was a simple incident, still many people got a glimpse of the relationship between them in it. During the making of Ganga Ki Saugandh, Amitji lost his cool on another actor of this movie as he finds his behavior towards Rekha was rude enough. This was just enough to bring the spotlight on them.
The Interview with Simi of Rendezvous
It was the interview with Rekha taken by Simi Garewal and Rekha acclaimed that though she was senior to Amitabh Bachchan, still it was not easy for anyone to stand in front of him. She also said that nothing ordinary could have satisfied her and Amitji was not at all an ordinary actor for that era. The person was to her something she had never seen before. The countless power to engulf the pain attracted Rekha towards him. In her own words, she was quite fascinated with Amitabh Bachchan and she wanted to pick up the best for her from the industry.
The masterstroke was played by Rekha as she was asked about her feeling of love for Amitabh Bachchan and she drove the question straight away. She asked Simi Garewal that no one can stay apart from falling in love with this man in anyways, and who is she to avoid this trend.
Words from Bachchans’
Though there were all these gossips and rumors, the Bachchans never came with any such statement on this which increased the degree of rumors eventually. Amitabh Bachchan never admitted about this affair publicly whereas Jaya Bachchan came up with statements that were not that signifying.
It came out in whispers that when Jaya Bachchan came to know about this, she invited Rekha in her house and very candidly told her decision that there is no question to leave Amitji under any circumstances. As Jaya Bachchan stayed rigid on her words, Rekha eventually got the point and she took her away from the family herself. But it is also a matter of suspension that Rekha never got married after that. Maybe it is due to the promise that either she will become Mrs. Bachchan or none.
Images are accredited to Bollywood Hungama / CC BY and Bollywood Hungama / CC BY
