MUMBAI: Veteran actress Simi Garewal has conducted numerous celebrity interviews throughout the years while wearing her signature white attire. However, just a handful of Simi's high-profile interviews remain memorable even 20 years later, and one of those is with the actor Rekha. Rekha, a famous actress in the 1970s and 1980s, was open with her ideas back then, yet it was uncommon to catch Rekha talking about Amitabh Bachchan on television.

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For those who are unaware, this was the first time Simi had addressed Rekha directly about her feelings for Amitabh Bachchan, and Rekha responded as candidly as she could. Years later, when Simi was questioned about this interview, she remarked that it was "easy" to ask Rekha this question. In 2015, she said, “It was easy asking her the question about Amitabh. If I can ask Jayalalitha if she ever loved MGR, asking Rekha about Amitabh was much easier. A lot of people ask me how I got her to open up. I didn’t know if I did anything special. I don’t want to analyse it. I just chatted as good friends. Rekha and I go back a long way.”

Rekha responded immediately, “Absolutely. Duh, that’s a dumb question” when Simi questioned her on the show about if she had ever been in love with Amitabh Bachchan. She added, “I have yet to come across a single man, woman, child who can help but fall completely, passionately, insanely, desperately, hopelessly in love with him. So why should I be singled out? What do I deny? I’m not in love with him? Of course I am. Duniya bhar ka love aap le lijiyega (Take all the love in the world) and add some more – I feel that for that person. Bottomline.”

Rekha acknowledged her admiration for Bachchan but insisted that they had never interacted on an intimate level. She mentioned, “There was never a personal connection with him, that’s the truth. Never ever. There was no truth to the controversies and speculation.”

Yash Chopra cast Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, and Rekha in the love triangle Silsila at the height of this issue. Amitabh and Rekha haven't starred in a movie together since that time. When Simi was questioned about it, she responded, “After all that controversy, I don’t think it was an easy thing to happen. He is a married man with children and grandchildren. So much hungama happened that we couldn’t expect that to happen again but I do agree they make a lovely pair onscreen.”

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Credits: The Indian Express