The blistering affair between luminary of the Millennium’ Amitabh Bachchan and the Bollywood’s timeless temptress Rekha remains unequaled. The relationship provided enough substance for chitchat tabloids to run their business for a few good years – that is not surprising given Rekha’s proclivity for loving her men with wild abandon.Amitabh of course was not just her celestial madness- but also he was the madness of the masses and had a ‘basa-basaya ghar’ with devoted wife Jaya, children and parents. Although, Amitabh reportedly had a soft corner, but he did not require any negative publicity to stain his squeaky-clean angry-youngman image. The chemistry between the two was very apparent on screen. Their love story began on the sets of ‘Do Anjaane’ – the second film that they did together. The pair provided hit after hit together – ‘Khoon Pasina’, ‘Ganga Ki Saugandh’, ‘Suhaag’, ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’, ‘Ram Balram’ and ‘Mr. Natwarlal’ amongst others.The on-screen chemistry engendered in the many films they made together, led many to suspect that there was a real life romance happening.
In an unbeliveable casting coup by Yash Chopra, Rekha appeared alongside both Amitabh and his wife Jaya, in the love triangle that was ‘Silsila’ (1981)! This film was their last film together and it incarcerates the real life Rekha-Amit-Jaya infidelity triangle. This Bollywood movie was based on the life story of Amitabh, who had an affair with Rekha while married to Jaya Bhaduri (Bachchan), daughter of eminent Bengali writer Tarun Bhaduri.At the commencement of the affair, the couple apparently met regularly at a secluded bungalow that belonged to Rekha’s friend. It became quite obvious that the two were involved when a normally serious Bachchan roughed up one fellow who heckled her while they were shooting for ‘Ganga Ki Saugandh’. People had begun noticing how the pair was spending more and more time together and were trying to defend their affair from the media glare.Rekha knew she would get the raw deal if Jaya ever found about the affair. She would always be the other woman like her mother had been. There was a lot at stake; especially her fragile ego but she couldn’t care less now that she was madly in love. And once she heard of the clandestine Hema-Dharmendra wedding, she hoped for marriage and threw caution to the wind.
Rekha made headlines when she turned up for Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s wedding wearing sindoor, mangalsutra and two rings on her fingers gifted by her Amit. She captured all the limelight that night – even more than the newly weds did.Jaya Bachchan may have pursed her lips at such shameless show of bravado but she would not give in without a fight. She suffered in dignity, refusing to bawl her heart out in interviews and in public.She invited Rekha home for dinner one day. To quote Rekha, ‘Jayaji called me for dinner one evening and though we spoke about everything but ‘him’, before I left that day, she made sure to tell me: ‘I will never leave Amit whatever happens!’ Sure enough, Jaya kept her word.Gossip magazines thrived on the affair. Juicy titbits such as the news of Jaya catching the couple at one of their early morning rendezvous and slapping the other woman appeared with amazing regularity in all leading tabloids. Though she refused to acknowledge the affair in public, Jaya said that if Amit were cheating on her, his conscience would eventually get the better of him and straighten him out.
Jaya’s words rung true – Amitabh the star and the good husband had to buckle under severe media and family pressure. Around the time that ‘Silsila’ captured this torrid love affair, the couple split.It was the end of one of the most passionate affairs both on and off screen. The glamour attached to the couple is such that even today when any of the trio is seen in one place, the camera crews never fail to capture their reactions towards one another. While Mr. and Mrs. Bachchan now present the picture of a happy family nurturing their son Abhishek’s career, Rekha does about a film a year guarding her private life with amazing severity.
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