Waheeda Rehman Birthday: Interesting facts about actress who added luminescence to silver screen

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Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman who added luminescence to the silver screen with her stellar acting and charm celebrates her 83rd birthday today. As one of Bollywood’s most loved yesteryear stars turns a year older let us delve into some lesser-known facts about her life.

Waheeda was born in Tamil Nadu. She was a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and initially wanted to become a doctor but destiny had something else in store for her. She lost her father at an early age and this hugely impacted her decision of entering into movies to support the financial needs of her family. 

She made her film debut in the Telugu film Rojulu Maraayi (1955) with the track Eruvaka sagaloi. Waheeda kick-started her Bollywood career with Guru Dutt’s production C.I.D. (1956), directed by Raj Khosla. She went on to act in a number of films after that like Kagaz Ke Phool, Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Guide, Kala Bazaar, Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Ram Aur Shyam, Aadmi, Teesri Kasam and Khamoshi established her as a stunning actress.

Waheeda is a versatile actress who has played various characters on screen. She has played both mother and lover to Amitabh Bachchan . She played his love interest in Adalat (1976) and mother in Trishul (1978).

In 1974, she had married her co-star Shashi Rekhi and have two children, Sohail and Kashvi. Both of them are well-known writers of the film industry. The family faced a personal setback when Shashi Rekhi died in 2000 after succumbing to a prolonged illness.

After decades of on-screen performances, the actress is now enjoying her time behind the camera. She had been pursuing wildlife photography and even hosted an exhibition showcasing her photography skills.