7 times Rekha stunned us on screen

Veteran film actress and timeless beauty Rekha celebrates her 70th birthday today. Born Bhanurekha Ganesan on 10 October 1954, she has continued to dazzle generations in a career spanning multiple decades.

Let's celebrate some of her iconic performances on her big day, including those that got her awards.

Ghar - 1978

Rekha earned her first Best Actress Filmfare nomination through her gritty performance in this classic story of a family torn by an incident. She played newly-wed Aarti who is raped one night on her way back home with her husband (Vinod Mehra) and has to live with it, to save her marriage.

R.D. Burman's 'Tere Bina Jiya Jaye Na' heightened the emotional intensity of the film. This storyline has been retold in various adaptations in both India and Pakistan.

Khoobsurat – 1980

In this Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy-drama, Rekha gets to play Manju, a fun-loving, carefree girl who wants everyone to be happy, especially her newly-married sister.

She also manages to dance to some of the best songs of the era - if ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ doesn't ring a bell, ‘Sunn Sunn Sunn Didi Tere Lye’ will. Her rebellious role earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Umrao Jaan - 1981

This Muzaffar Ali-film heralded Rekha’s career to superstardom where her portrayal of courtesan Umrao Jaan was both graceful and emotionally charged. Khayyam’s music gave her the chance to display her exceptional dance performances which were also evident earlier in ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’, her other famous courtesan role.

She ended up winning the National Film Award for Best Actress for ‘Umrao Jaan’ which remains her most memorable performance.

Silsila - 1981

If Rekha gave life to a courtesan’s character in Umrao Jaan, she breathed life into the role of ‘the other woman’ in Yash Chopra’s Silsila which featured her rumored boyfriend Amitabh Bachchan and his real-life wife Jaya Bachchan in the lead.

Her character, Chandni, had a deep, unfulfilled love for the writer Amit who chose to marry his deceased brother’s fiancée after his untimely death. The film still looks fresh because of its perfect casting, since it mirrors the real-life love triangle of Amitabh, Jaya Bachchan, and Rekha.

Ijaazat - 1987

Rekha didn’t only make a name for herself in commercial cinema but also was a force to reckon with in parallel cinema. In Gulzar’s Ijazat, she plays Sudha a housewife who meets her ex-husband accidentally at the railway station.

It is only after confronting each other they discover some truths about both their lives, post-separation.

Khoon Bhari Maang - 1988

Rakesh Roshan’s Khoon Bhari Maang honors the classic ‘return from the dead’ formula where she plays two distinct avatars of the same character. The first avatar has her portraying a rich widow Aarti who remarries Sanjay (Kabir Bedi) for her children, only to be ‘almost’ killed by him.

A plastic surgery beautifies her after which she decides to take revenge from those who wronged her. Needless to say, her convincing performance earned her another Filmfare Award.

Parineeta – 2005

Even though it was a friendly appearance, Rekha’s performance as a Moulin Rouge singer in 'Kaisi Paheli Zindagaani' was nothing short of breathtaking.

She looked stunning in the 1960s-inspired club setting while Sunidhi Chauhan's vocals gave her the modern touch required for the audience.