Super Nani: The Grand Young Rekha

It does not matter if Super Nani is a film worth watching. It is a one-woman show with a true Bollywood rock star taking centre stage. When Rekha with bowed head and timid tone, plays maid, nanny and doormat to an overbearing family that includes a complete non-actor like Randhir Kapoor, she deserves all the accolades, just for her complete submission to a ridiculous role, like a true, devoted actor. When Rekha makes a comeback in her trademark long wavy, thick hair, big red bindi, sindoor, long sleeved blouses, flawless makeup that refuses to reveal a single aging line, she remains the most ‘khoobsurat’ diva on screen. When Rekha transforms into a ‘modern’ woman, she could easily be the mistress of makeovers and stand as a shining example for all the housewives, moms and grandmoms who hold the thankless job of running a home. When Rekha delivers the filmiest of dialogues in that ageless husky voice, exactly like the heroine she has always been, she could teach every actor including Big B, a thing or two. Her final roar,“ maano to hum kumkum jaise, na maano to hum raakh se” deserves the loudest clap for the most perfect modulation of the most theatrical 90’s “Beta” like lines. When Rekha dons various stunning looks in larger than life characters that include Anarkali, she looks the most ravishing, when grime is strategically painted on her face, while playing Nargis’s Mother India and washing utensils. This is beauty at its best. When Rekha enacts the inevitable scene that mentions her most favourite man, she once again plays up to her naughty and cute, famous obsession. Her “HAAIN” is better than AB style. When Rekha plays the most unconvincing role in a film with an outdated , loud treatment, and yet carries it effortlessly on her dignified, beautiful shoulders, along with equally remarkable Sharman Joshi and Anupam Kher, you want to salute this humongously brave lady. This Grand Young Lady deserves every award and salute, for her sheer, actor’s sizzling spirit and never say die, dazzling beauty. (The writer tries to make peace with her own filmmaking nightmares, of being a scriptwriter, actor and assisting film icons by moonlighting as a film journalist.http://gayatrigauri.blogspot.in)