MUMBAI: Indian cinema icon Rekha received an overwhelming and heartfelt welcome at the Red Sea International Film Festival, where her timeless classic Umrao Jaan (1981) was showcased in the festival’s newly introduced “Treasures Strand” — a section devoted to restoring, preserving, and celebrating landmark works of world cinema. Rekha, whose portrayal of the courtesan-poet Umrao remains one of the most defining performances in Indian cinema, attended the screening to a packed auditorium of admirers, cinephiles, media, and international film delegates. The audience’s resounding response to her presence underscored the deep affection
and reverence she continues to command across generations and continents.
Speaking at the festival, Rekha said,” I am not much of a talker. I think even Umrao, the dialogues said barely half of what my eyes could feel and express. I think one look is enough. As my mother used to always say, you don't talk about your achievements, you don't talk about your feelings. You don't teach people by telling them what to do. You just live by example. You live your best life and they can learn, evolve, especially what not to do. So that is what I will share with all of you.I learned what not to do. I took that leap of faith and said I am not going to miss this Red Sea International Film Festival. So I am here.” She added, “for every word that is spoken, there lies a silence that is better. So tonight, I very silently, humbly, with all my respects and love for my loved ones, be it my fans, my family,
my friends, my great, great new friends - watch this film and you will know what I meant by saying - baaton se kucch nahi hota hai, sirf Ishq se hota hai. Woh bhi khamosh ishq, Shukriya.”
Finn Halligan, Artistic Director of the Red Sea International Film Festival, while introducing Rekha at the screening, said, “Rekha doesn’t just belong to Indian cinema — she defines its mystique. Across a career spanning decades, she has shapeshifted from ingénue to icon with the sort of effortless grace only the truly gifted can do. To celebrate Rekha is to honour a woman who claimed her space not with noise, but with an unwavering devotion to craft, reinvention, and a quiet, steely resilience she rarely talks about but always embodies. Her performances — raw, intimate, fiercely measured — have carved themselves into our cultural memory in a way that time cannot erode.From the grand, operatic style of Khoon Bhari Maang and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar to the nuanced, layered restraint of Ijaazat, Khoobsurat, Utsav and the timeless Umrao Jaan — which we celebrate today — Rekha has travelled a remarkable artistic arc. Even in the later stages of her career, in films like Lajja, Zubeida, she continued to bring depth and dignity to every frame she occupied. Long before it became fashionable, she turned her back on stereotypes, choosing instead to explore complex interior worlds of her characters in films like Ghar, Do Anjaane to name a few. A masterclass in acting, dancing, and emotion, Rekha remains that rare artist cherished both by those who grew up watching her and by the young generation discovering her now. And then there is that voice—that unmistakable diction and cadence—adding a poetic gravitas to everything she does, on screen and off it. Today, as we look back at her extraordinary journey, we don’t just honour an actor; we honour a legacy that continues to inspire generations of women & men to live life—on their own terms- and tell their stories.”
The Red Sea International Film Festival’s Treasures strand celebrates films that have shaped cinematic history, and Umrao Jaan — directed by Muzaffar Ali with music by Khayyam — stands tall among them. Rekha’s evocative portrayal of love, poetry, grace, longing, and lyrical resilience not only earned her the National Award but remains one of Indian cinema’s most cherished and enduring performances. The festival was also attended by Muzaffar Ali, the director of the film. The festival team expressed their delight at their presence. Umrao Jaan was re-released earlier this year in India by PVR INOX.
The driving force behind bringing the film to the festival and putting the entire piece together was Abhishek Kumar, an independent marketing and PR consultant, and Gina Shetty, the founder of Stellar Entertainment, with whom the festival has worked exclusively since its inception.
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