Amitabh Bachchan’s old interviews still answer the Rekha rumours

Few Bollywood legends have had to bat away the same rumour for as long as Amitabh Bachchan. Even as the actor built an unmatched career, his personal life stayed under a tabloid lens, particularly the alleged romance with Rekha, his co-star in Do Anjaane and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. In resurfaced conversations from Bhawana Somaaya’s 1999 book Amitabh Bachchan: The Legend and around the same period on Simi Garewal’s talk show, Bachchan addressed the speculation with unusual directness.

The rumours that refused to fade

Bachchan was married to Jaya Bachchan, and the contrast between his public image and the whispering gallery of film magazines made him an easy target. Asked why he did not seem concerned about being labelled a flirt, he said he would only respond if someone presented specific, unchallenged proof of offensive behaviour.

His fuller reply pushes back on the gossip economy itself. In the book he is quoted as saying he would not retaliate to ‘unmitigated accusations’ made just to ‘make good copy’. Then came the line that has followed the story for decades: ‘How many times have you seen us together, let alone behave offensively in public?’

The Pratiksha story he called damaging

Bachchan also recalled a magazine report claiming Rekha had moved into his bungalow, Pratiksha. He worried readers could mistake such photo-led stories for proof. He called the outcome ‘damaging and misleading’, and clarified that Pratiksha was his family home, shared with his parents, including his ailing father and mother.

Separately, on Simi Garewal’s show, he called Rekha ‘my co-star and colleague’ and said that beyond work, ‘socially, we have nothing in common’. He added they had not worked together for years, crossing paths only occasionally at award shows and gatherings. Reports that the two had moved into each other’s homes, he said, were ‘a big joke’.

Why the old interviews still matter

What makes the throwback compelling is the contrast with Rekha’s own words. In a 2004 appearance with Simi Garewal, Rekha was asked if she was in love with Bachchan. Her answer began with ‘Absolutely’ and only grew more emphatic from there. That imbalance, his measured denial and her open admiration, is why the story refuses to die.

For fans, the old clips are a useful reset. They show how quickly screen chemistry gets converted into private-life fact in Bollywood’s parallel gossip industry.

• On-screen chemistry is craft. Actors sell a relationship; it is not a documentary.
• A photograph of a home is not evidence. Bachchan made exactly this point about Pratiksha.
• Public statements can differ. His restraint and Rekha’s candour are both real, and both deserve not to be flattened into one scandal.

So when the next throwback clip lands in your feed, enjoy the nostalgia and the performances. Just don’t treat a bungalow photo as a confession.

Source: The Times of India