Watching the media trial Rhea Chakraborty has been subjected to over the past two months, many recall a similar episode from Bollywood’s past. Veteran actress Rekha was also tried by the media after her husband’s death in 1990.
Singer Chinmayi Sripada shared an Instagram post on Sunday, an excerpt from Rekha’s biography, Rekha: The Untold Story by Yasser Usman. The biography details how Rekha was blamed for the suicide of her husband, Mukesh Aggarwal. Her in-laws called her a witch and even her Bollywood colleagues ignored her. Read it here:
The quotes from Subhash Ghai and Anupam Kher, circa 1990 on Rekha, if reported verbatim, is how some men are made.
It’s amazing how Rekha survived and thrived. pic.twitter.com/GWlSUt3Zzh
– Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) September 13, 2020
“On October 2, 1990, Mukesh, Rekha’s husband, decided to take her life. He had hung himself from the ceiling fan in his room, wearing his wife’s dupatta.
Same Mukesh, who reportedly looked happy on the fateful day, according to his brother Anil.
Rekha learned of Mukesh’s chronic depression after getting married.
WHAT FOLLOWED:
1. A national witch hunt followed. People across the country began to hate and shame her for being a heartless man-eater.
2. Mukesh’s mother’s lament made headlines when she shouted: ‘Woh daayan mera bete ko kha gayi. Bhagwan uses kabhi maaf nahi karega ‘. (That witch ate my son. God will never forgive her).
3. Anil Gupta said: “My brother really loved Rekha. For him, love was an attempt at life and death. He couldn’t tolerate what Rekha was doing to him. Now what does she want? Do you want our money?
4. Subhash Ghai said: “Rekha has left such a stain on the face of the film industry that it will be difficult to remove easily. I think after this, any respectable family will think twice about accepting an actress as their bahoo. It’s going to be difficult even professionally for her. No conscious director will ever work with her again. How will the audience accept her as Bharat ki nari or insaf ki devi? “
5. Anupam Kher said: “She has become the national vampire. Professionally and personally, I think it is a curtain for her. I mean, I don’t know how I will react to her if I come face to face with her. “
6. The press summed up the sensational story of Mukesh’s suicide and reported scandalous headlines such as “The Black Widow” (Showtime, November 1990) and “The Grim Truth Behind Mukesh’s Suicide” (Blitz Cinema, November 1990) . The high society of Delhi and the Bombay film industry strongly condemned Rekha for “murdering” Mukesh Agarwal.
1990-2020: 30 years Similar cases, similar reactions. He still wonders why smashing patriarchy and feminism is relevant.
Sharing it, Chinmayi wrote: “The quotes from Subhash Ghai and Anupam Kher, circa 1990 on Rekha, if reported word for word, is how some men are formed. It is amazing how Rekha survived and prospered.”
Also read: From being asked to serve food to Ayushmann Khurrana until she was groped at 12, Tahira Kashyap opens up to the need to crush the patriarchy
The father of the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput filed a FIR against Rhea in July, accusing her of complicity in suicide. The case was sent to the Central Investigation Office and is also being simultaneously investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Office. Even with three agencies on the case, many on the internet have already found Rhea guilty of Sushant’s death. She has been bombarded with hateful messages on social media.
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