*Stars Speak*

Now you and I might be great fans of Rekha's, but what do the stars have to say about her? Here I've collected some quotes from various interviews and articles to try to put together a picture of what the rest of the industry thinks about her.

Raveena Tandon
I don't want to say too much on the subject. I don't think Akshay ever had anything to do with Rekha. As a matter of fact, he would run away from her. Akshay tolerated Rekha because of the film. At one point she wanted to get lunch dabbas for him from home. That's when I put my foot down. I felt it was taking things a bit too far. She's a wonderful person, but she should learn where to draw the line.

Anil Kapoor
I have very fond memories of the Bulandi shoot. On the sets, there was this fierce competition on between Rekha and Raveena Tandon about their costumes. I had a poor village tailor stitch them because I thought I'd look more authentic. So, there I was looking like the servant of Rekha and Raveena. The film didn't do well that's another story.

Aishwarya Rai
The first time I almost saw a film star was Rekha. Our school used to take us to Otter's club for swimming lessons. Once we were going there in our school bus when the girls saw Rekha entering a bungalow. Later we learnt that she was shooting for Jhooti. The girls called out to her and according to them, Rekha waved back. I was so disappointed that day because I didn't see her. And Rekha was my favourite actress at that time! The first time I met Rekha was both memorable and touching. I was already a model but not that famous. One evening my mom and I were walking back home after a visit to a dentist. As we were reaching home, mom wanted to buy some groceries from the nearby shop and I tagged along. Just as I was deciding whether to buy biscuits for myself, someone tapped me on the back and said "Ash?" I turned and it took me quite some time to register that the person who'd tapped me was THE Rekha! She was looking very simple in a white salwar kameez and had no makeup on except for a touch of pink lipstick. She held out her hand and said "I'm Rekha." She complimented me on my looks and then with an "all the best" left as quietly as she came. I was really dazed and touched because there was really no need for her to do it. It would have been different if we had met in some studio. But for her to stop her car, come after me and say something nice was amazing. It was great.

Shekhar Suman
My first film Utsav was opposite Rekha, remember? And look at the effect Rekha has, even when it's only acting. There was this bathing scene between Rekha and me where I am taking off her jewels one by one. Alka (my wife) stomped off and out of the auditorium on the night of the premiere, as soon as this scene came on. And later at home, she even physically attacked me in anger! The scars took a long time to heal - hers emotional, mine physical. I have done love scenes so many times in films but Alka's never reacted like this to any other actress.

Shashi Kapoor
I saw her first film Sawan Bhadon with Jennifer and I didn't think much of her. At that time women used to wear those ugly hairdos and outrageous eye make-up and Rekha had plenty of both. But Jennifer seemed to have an intuition about her. 'This girl is going to be a big actress,' she said. At that time Rekha was staying at a hotel at Juhu and she used to come to watch my shooting. I never took her seriously. I used to think, yeh gol matol kya karegi (what can this plump girl do)?

Tusshar Kapoor
When I was growing up there was a phase when Rekha did most of the movies with my dad. You know, the typical family dramas. She was the wife, and my father, the husband. I used to be quite happy to watch her with my dad in all his films, like quite the done thing, like a daily thaali. Then when I saw Himmatwala, with dad and Sridevi, I was like, 'Who is she? We don't want her to be playing my dad's wife, she's so... eeeee!' I was a die-hard Rekha loyalist.

Manoj Bajpai:
If I am comfortable playing Rekha's husband in Zubeidaa it's because she was firm. She told me, Manoj, "Here, I am playing your wife. So treat me like your wife."

Mamta Kulkarni
I don't want to be like Rekha.

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