When Rekha ‘Starved Herself’ To Lose Weight During Early Years In Films

The evergreen beauty of Bollywood, Rekha, is the epitome of fashion and grace. At the age of 68, the actress dishes out major fitness and style goals. This was not always the case. Reportedly, there was a time when Rekha was body shamed and taunted for her skin colour. She had even confessed to “starving” herself to lose weight. During one of Rekha’s earlier interactions on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, she disclosed that she used to starve herself to lose weight by drinking only Elaichi milk for months or eating popcorn to get the perfect body. She said, “Those days we did it all the wrong way. We had no idea that what I am today and the knowledge that I have of food is not what I knew then. Then you went on the starvation diet. I used to have just Elaichi milk for months together. Sometimes, I used to go on a popcorn diet. So basically, I used to starve.”

The audience saw Rekha’s transformation during her movie Ghar, which was released in 1978. She revealed that it was not an overnight transformation, as people believed. It took her two and a half years to lose all that weight.

In a separate interview earlier, Rekha revealed she was once called the ‘ugly duckling.’ She said, “I was called the ‘Ugly Duckling’ of Hindi films because of my dark complexion and South Indian features.” She continued, “I used to feel deeply hurt when people compared me with the leading heroines of the time and said I was no match for them. I was determined to make it big on sheer merit.”

Rekha proved that with perseverance, one can achieve anything one put their mind to. As reported by Bollywoodshaadis.com, Rekha worked hard to master her Hindi and even took training to teach herself Urdu for her blockbuster hit movie Umrao Jaan (1981).

Rekha was born Bhanurekha Ganesan and began acting as a child artist in the Telugu film industry. She marked her debut in Bollywood as a lead actress with the commercial hit movie Sawan Bhadon. She has worked in movies like Silsila, Khoobsurat, Khoon Bhari Maang, Umrao Jaan, Biwi Ho To Aisi, and Judai. She was last seen in Super Nani in 2014. The film also starred Sharman Joshi, Randhir Kapoor, and Anupam Kher in the lead roles.

Read all the Latest Bollywood News and Regional Cinema News here