Happy birthday, Rekha

New Delhi: One of the living legends of Bollywood, Rekha in the pre-autumn of her life, still wows her audience with her presence and beauty. The Umrao Jaan lady has just no match for her beauty in Bollywood. Here we bring you 10 mysteriuous facts about Rekha, who dominated Bollywood for a long time with her films, her relationships, and her popularity among fans.1. Rekha was born to Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli. Her father didn't acknowledge her paternity during childhood. Though Rekha never dreamed of becoming an actress, yet the poor financial status of her family forced her to step into the big, bad world of Bollywood. Initiallty Rekha worked in B and C grade Telugu flicks. She had seven brother and sisters, but no one was close enough to her. The actress revealed that when she returned home dead tired after work, her brother used to force her to go out for more work.2. During her initial years, Rekha wasn't considered well in her looks and was criticisesd as an 'ugly duckling'. In an interview Rekha said that because of her dark complexion and south Indian features she was considered an ugly duckling in Bollywood. She was determined to change people's attitude towards her and she did. In the late 70s she went through a transformation, courtesy Amitabh Bachchan, and later emerged as a sex symbol.3. She became choosy while selecting the flicks and in 1976 flick “Do Anjaane” was considered as a ‘performance-oriented' flick of Rekha. Her transformed look and attitude was loved by the spectators. Rekha during her shoot in the flick was scolded by Big B for not remembering the dialogues and was warned to learn it in her house and then come to the sets.4. Rekha In 1976-1978 worked in two flicks among which “Mukaddar Ka Sikandar” opposite Big B became the highest grosser and the actress then joined the big league of Bollywood actresses. It's said that during the shoot of the flick itself Rekha chose Amitabh as her ‘Mukaddar'. The duo worked in numerous flicks and like their on-screen chemistry their off-screen chemistry gained much space in numerous gossip columns. The actress was also criticized for sharing such a bond with a married man.5. But one day on the sets of ‘Ganga Ki Saugandh', Big B bashed up a man for troubling Rekha which gave more hype to their story. The duo thereafter split their way and tried not be witnessed in public together. But it wans't the end. In 1980, Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor tied their wedding knot but it was Rekha who gained more limelight as she was seen with a ‘Mangalsutra' around her neck. It was a bit obvious for people around to circulate rumours about her marriage.6. Their off-screen relationship was similar to their onscreen persona and it even inspired Yash Chopra's Silsila' in which real-life characters played the reel roles. Obviously this flick was the most-talked about film because Jaya, Amitabh and Rekha worked together in a romantic triangle, which added fuel to the fire on their relationship. This was Rekha-Amit's last flick together, which also raised fingers at Jaya for stopping the duo to work together.7. Thereafter, Rekha's name was linked to numerous personalities. According to Bollywood mags, Rekha late at night was spotted running out of Raj Babbar's office. In addition to it there was another superstar waiting outside with his Ambassador. He tried to cheer up but she ran off crying. 8. Sanjay Dutt, 5 years younger to Rekha, was also in her list. Sanjay was rumored to have married the actress secretly which was later denied by both. Rekha in an interview revealed that she befriended Sanjay in order to make Big B jealous. Rekha was also alleged to have brought about differences between actor Kamal Hassan and his wife Wadi Ganapati. Later when she came to know about this she split her friendship with both of them.9. In 1990, Rekha under the influence of her friends married industrialist Mukesh Aggarwal at a temple in Juhu. Within a year, Mukesh committed suicide in his farmhouse, while Rekha was in the United States at that moment. People close to her explained this as the toughest time of her life, as questions were raised like what led Mukesh to suicide just within a year of their marriage? Weren't they happy together? After Mukesh's suicide Rekha shifted to Bandra Stand house in Mumbai Bandra west. But she is rarely seen inside or outside the house.10. Few of you may know, that Rekha loves to sing and in ‘Khoobsurat' she hummed two songs as requested by the legendary RD Burman. Rekha loved 'Yeh kya jagah hai doston' song from ‘Umrao Jaan' and used to hum this song in her home.Rekha is now a nominated Rajya Sabha member but again the two actresses ( Jaya Bachchan the other RS member) try not to cross each other's paths. While she was taking oath, the cameras constantly focused on Jaya Bachchan. Jaya, when she came to know about Rekha getting the seat just besides her, changed her seat, while two years back they both were spotted hugging each other at the launch of a book in Mumbai.There are numerous questions which crop up time to time. Like, what happened that night between Raj Babbar and her? Who was the man standing outside Babbar's office? What led Mukesh to suicide who even ousted her out of his will? Who is the special person who informed Rekha about her Best Actress National Award beforehand?