Rekha Made Faces At Moushumi Chatterjee On Set, Behaved Coldly: ‘As If She Doesn't Care…'

News18

25-05-2025

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Moushumi Chatterjee opens up about her tense equation with Rekha, on-set incidents and their rivalry over Vinod Mehra, Prem Bandhan, and more.
Veteran Bollywood actress Moushumi Chatterjee recently opened up about her not-so-warm relationship with iconic star Rekha, talking about moments of silent rivalry, miscommunication, and emotional distance during their time working together. The two shared the screen in multiple films — but their off-screen equation was far from smooth.
Speaking to Filmfare, Moushumi recalled how Rekha seemed wary of her connection with actor Vinod Mehra, who was a close friend. 'Rekha used to think I'm controlling Vinod Mehra's life. Because she is sitting in his house, and (Vinod's) mother used to tell me, 'Indu, Vinod ki cupboard mein se envelope nikal do' (Indu, take the envelope out from Vinod's cupboard). So naturally, she used to not like it."
She went on to say that Rekha seemed to believe Vinod gave more weight to Moushumi's words.
'Somehow she used to feel Vinod used to listen to me more than anybody else."
Moushumi said Rekha's attitude on set wasn't always friendly, and that she often showed her disapproval without saying a word. 'She used to make faces while seeing me, as if she doesn't care. And once, I approached her and asked, 'How did you do that? Do it again, in front of me?' She got nervous. I don't know if she remembers this."
She also remembered a strange moment while filming Prem Bandhan, when director Ramanand Sagar made an unexpected request. 'He said, 'Woh height ka thoda… woh Rekha barefoot hai' (It's a bit about the height… Rekha is barefoot). I told him, 'I'm a padhi-likhi rich woman. I'm born and brought up that way. Why are you asking me to take off my shoes? You manage, ask her to take a stool.'"
Reflecting on their work together in Dassi, Moushumi recalled Rekha growing increasingly unhappy with being offered second-lead roles and even asking for a complete role swap. 'She got fed up playing the second woman. She insisted to Raj Khosla, 'Give me the role of Dassi, I should be Sanjeev Kumar's wife. Let her do this one.' I remember all his assistants, Sagar and others, they were laughing. He was a little high when she made that request, so he just said, 'Mereko poora story change karna padega' (I'll have to change the entire story)."
Rekha and Moushumi Chatterjee worked together in several popular films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Dildar, Prem Bandhan, Mang Bharo Sajjan, and Dassi.
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