Happy Birthday Rekha!

Today, we celebrate the birthday of a glamorous Bollywood diva who is better known by her stage name, Rekha.

Published: Thursday,Oct 10, 2013 20:45 PM GMT-06:00

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Today, we celebrate the birthday of a glamorous Bollywood diva who is better known by her stage name, Rekha. Born as Bhanurekha Ganesan in Chennai on the 10th of October, 1954, Rekha came from a filmy background with her parents being actors as well. Thus, the acting bug bit her early and she quit school to start a career in films.

Rekha first appeared on screen at the tender age of twelve in the Tamil movie, Rangula Ratnam. She also made a successful Kannada debut in Goa Dalli CID 999 and in the Hindi movie, Anjana Safar. However, her debut film as a lead actress came in the form of Sawan Bhadon in 1970. Though thoroughly successful, Rekha was always scorned for her looks and was often referred to as the 'Ugly Duckling'. In order to break this image, she underwent a makeover which left everyone spellbound of her divine beauty. Since then, Rekha has left her mark in movies such as Do Anjaane, Mukkadar Ka Sikander, Khoobsurat, Silsila, Umrao Jaan and Khoon Bhari Maang. She also attained success as a villain in Khiladiyon Ke Khiladi.

Rekha has acted in more than 180 films and has bagged the Filmfare award thrice. Her roles in Khoobsurat and Khoon Bhari Maang received her the Best Actress award while she was honored with the Best Supporting actress award for Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi. Rekha has also been honored with the National Award for her performance in Umrao Jaan and the Padma Shri in 2010. She is a prestigious Rajya Sabha member as well.

In order to celebrate Rekha's birthday, here are a few mesmerizing tracks of this fabulous actress and even more graceful dancer: