Posted:
Flashback : Rekha - To Vinod Mehra's mother, I was a badnaam actress with a reputation of being a sex-maniac
In today's Flashback, we dissect Rekha's love story with actor Vinod Mehra.
Written By Urvi Parikh Mumbai Updated: March 18, 2017 03:54 pm
That veteran actress Rekha has often grabbed headlines for her personal life than her professional life is something that we all have been aware about. Her rumoured relationship with the megastar Amitabh Bachchan has often created a stir in the media. However, the duo has always maintained a stoic silence over this.
Though Rekha gave indirect hints and made subtle references to Big B in her interviews in the past, especially the one with Simi Garewal, Big B has never spoken anything about her.
But before her affair with Big B happened, Rekha's equation with actor Vinod Mehra grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the gossip magazines. It was during 1971 when Vinod debuted in Hindi cinema. Back then, Rekha was nursing a broken heart as she had just parted ways with Jeetendra. Eventually, Rekha and Vinod started meeting each other often and grew close. According to Yasser Usman's book Rekha, the actress was so fond of him that she used to endearingly call him Vin Vin.
The two love birds were often seen kissing each other in public and walking hand-in-hand. They even went out for long drives in Vinod's car and were spotted having a cozy dinner till the wee hours of the morning in Taj.
Director Sawan Kumar, who was Vinod's neighbour, had once told that Rekha spent most of her time with Vinod at his flat and was also the unofficial hostess at Mehra's sister's wedding. In an interview with Star and Style in 1972, Rekha had once admitted, "Vinod kissed me on my birthday but in the morning and in the privacy of my bedroom."
And the feelings were mutual. Whenever Rekha was under the scanner in the media, Vinod would jump in to rescue his lady love and would often defend her. He was pretty serious about her and was keen on giving their relationship a name until his mother Kamla Mehra objected to it.
While Vinod's mother wanted a docile, traditional daughter-in-law, Rekha didn't fit the bill. Her sensational statements about premarital sex, desire to become a mother even out of a wedlock, obviously didn't go down well with his mother.
Rekha had once stunned the audience when in an interview she said, "Premarital sex is very natural. And all those prudes who say that a single woman should have only on her suhhaag raat are talking bull."
However, on Vinod's insistence, Rekha did try to impress his mother and would often spend time with her at their Pali hill residence. She would make fish curry for 'mummy' but the gap could never bridge.
In an interview in 1973, Rekha said, "To her (Vinod's mother) I am not just an actress, but I am a badnaam actress with a rotten past and a reputation for being a sex-maniac. For Vinod's sake, she tolerated me in the beginning. Now she won't tolerate me at all."
This often lead to arguments between the two to an extent that once Rekha consumed cockroach poison. However, later Vinod had clarified in a press conference that it was a case of food poisoning and Rekha didn't attempt suicide. It was because of Rekha's extreme step, that Vinod agreed to marry her. But the two kept it under wraps. With the help of Moushami Chatterjee's husband Babu, both Rekha and Vinod married at a temple in Calcutta's Park Circus area.
After marrying, the two returned to Mumbai and headed straight to Vinod's house. A filmmaker has revealed in the book that as soon as Rekha touched Kamla's feet, she was pushed away and didn't let the newly wedded bride enter the house. Vinod's mother abused and humiliated Rekha to a level where once she removed her chappal and beat up the actress. Vinod tried to intervene but it was of no use. Naturally, following this, Rekha left the place, with Vinod assuring her that she should stay at her house till his mother calms down.
Though Vinod kept juggling between the two houses, nothing could be worked out and the two parted ways. However, later in 2004, Rekha had denied having married Vinod Mehra ever.
Despite her past with Vinod, she never stopped working with him. Rekha did a film with Mehra titled Ghar and it was directed by Gulzar. Her chemistry with Vinod was immensely praised and people thought it was because of their past equation. However, Rekha's statement in an interview stunned all. She attributed her chemistry with Vinod to Amitabh Bachchan. She said, "My love scenes were so convincing because I would just substitute Vinod Mehra for 'him'."
This was the time when the diva was smitten over by Big B and 'he' was a recurring figure in Rekha's media interactions.
comment:
p_commentcount