One runs out of adjective while trying to describe Rekha. There is a certain timeless quality about her beauty. She is not only drop dead gorgeous at age of 54, but is one very talented actress. Rekha is, perhaps, the last of that breed of actress who carried an air of mystique around them. The aura of a star or a diva, because that's what she is. Born in 1954, Rekha's first Hindi film was called Do Shikari, starring Biswajeet. But it was the 1970 film Sawan Bhadon, however, that is considered to be her Hindi debut film as Do Shikari ran into censorship problems and was not released.

Sawan Bhadon was a hit and Rekha became an overnight star. But the roles that she did in subsequent films were mainly glamorous in nature with little scope for acting, like Kahani Kismat Ki, Rampur Ka Lakshman and Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye. It was with the 1976 Do Anjaane opposite Amitabh Bachchan that Rekha started to be taken seriously as an actress. That was followed by Ghar two years later, where she played a rape victim, opposite Vinod Mehra. Prakash Mehra's Muquaddar Ka Sikander further consolidated her image of an actress who could not only look good but was a versatile actress as well. It was also the start of the sizzling jodi of Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha. It culminated in Yash Chopra's Silsila made in 1980. Subsequently the two did not work with each other again and it is also believed to have marked the end of their relationship. Besides Bachchan, she also formed a successful jodi with Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra and Randhir Kapoor.

A lot has been written about the influence of Amitabh Bachchan on Rekha as an actress and as a woman. The transformation of the ugly duckling into the beauty that she is today began back then. She got into shape, changed her style of dressing and amazed everyone with her performances in films like Khoobsurat, Khoon Bhari Maan and Umrao Jaan, which was definitely the highlight of her career. She won a National Award for her heartrending performance as the courtesean of the 19th century. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Khoobsurat and Khoon Bhari Maang. Apart from these three films, she also acted in many other films like Shyam Benegal's Kalyug, Govind Nihalani's Vijeta, Girish Karnad's Utsav, Ramesh Talwar's Baseraa and Gulzar's Ijaazat. In recent years, the actress was seen in a brief appearance as Ramdulari in Rajkumar Santoshi's Lajja and Shyam Benegal's Zubeidaa. She played Hrithik Roshan's mother in Rakesh Roshan's Koi... Mil Gaya and his grandmother in Krrish. She was also seen briefly seen in Parineeta. Last year, saw the release of the actress's film Yatra, directed by Gautam Ghose, which, however, did not click at the box office.

Rekha has always brilliant moulded herself to the characters that she plays on screen. In fact, it is difficult to ever imagine anyone else ever doing those roles, besides her. Post the Bachchan period in her life, the actor has revealed a rare mastery over Hindi and Urdu and is considered by many to be a dubbing expert. She has acted in over 180 films in a career that has spanned some 40 years. MovieTalkies.com would like to wish her a very happy birthday. There is no one quite like you Rekha, and there never will be!