Rakhee

Rakhee, a showbiz star is probably the only Indian actress who never took a break from the cinema. She has played every kind of roles, a spoilt brat to a loving mother , from a caring girlfriend to a dutiful daughter in law, all with ideal elegance. Rakhee, a national film award winner has also been honored with the coveted Padma Shri Award by the Government of India. Rakhee was born as Rakhee Mazumdar on the auspicious day of 15th August 1947 in Ranaghat the place in West Bengal. She was born just after the declaration of independence of India. Rakhee did her early schooling from a local girl's high school. Her father had a successful shoe business in East Pakistan, i.e Bangladesh. When Rakhee was a teenager she had an arranged marriage with Bengali film director Ajay Biswas which ended shortly. Rakhee for the second time got married to famous lyricist Gulzar. The couple has a daughter, director Meghna Gulzar who has directed films like 'Just Married', 'Filhaal' and 'Dus Kahaniyaan'. Rakhee and Gulzaar separated when Meghna was just one year old. She grew up with her father.

Rakhee made her screen debut with a Bengali film 'Badhu Baran' in 1967. She was just 20 years old then. She won rave reviews for her performance in this film. After that, she bagged the lead role in her debut Hindi film 'Jeevan Mrityu' by Rajshri Productions Pvt. Ltd. opposite Dharmendra. The film was a huge hit and the song 'Jhilmil Sitaron Ka Aangan Hoga' became dear to the audience's hearts.

Her 1971 film 'Sharmeelee' again gave her fame in which she essayed a double role opposite Shashi Kapoor. She was next seen in 'Lal Patthar' and 'Paras' where were hits as well. She was a part of several blockbusters like 'Daag' ,'Heera Panna' ,'Shehzada' ,'Hamare Tumhare' ,'Taaqat' ,'Aanchal' etc. She established herself as a major Hindi film actress by acting with the best co-stars and top directors in 70s and 80s decade. Rakhee credits her performances from films 'Blackmail' and 'Tapasya' as her best performances. She shared good chemistry with Dev Anand, Barjatyas and Yash Chopra. With Dev Anand, she was seen in hit films like 'Banarasi Babu' ,'Joshila' and 'Lootmaar'.

Shashi Kapoor and Rakhee's chemistry was hit on screen in that era. The duo gave several hits like 'Sharmeelee' ,'Kabhi Kabhi' ,'Trishna' ,'Janwar Aur Insaan' ,'Pighalta Aasman' ,'Baseraa' ,'Zameen Aasman' ,'Doosra Aadmi' etc. With Amitabh Bachchan the talented actress delivered several successful films like 'Kasme Vaade' ,'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' ,'Trishul','Jurmana', 'Kaala Patthar' ,'Bemisal' and 'Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'.

Rakhee was featured in a Bengali film 'Paroma' which gave her BFJA Award for the Best actress. Her last film as a lead was 'Pighalta Aasman' with Shashi Kapoor. She did not hesitate to play supporting roles either. She played Rajesh Khanna's sister in law in 'Aanchal' , Amitabh Bachchan's mother in 'Shakti' and Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan sister in law in 'Shaan'. She also played Amitabh Bachchan's dead mother in 'Laawaris'.

During late 80s and 90s she played the strong character roles as woman of principles or an elderly woman or a bitter widow in the films like 'Ram Lakhan' ,'Anari' ,'Saaheb' ,'Baazigar' ,'Karan Arjun' ,'Khalnayak' ,'Soldier' ,'Border' and 'Ek Rishtaa' etc. The last film in which she essayed a major role was 'Shubho Mahurat' in 2003. For this, she won the National Film Award for the Best Supporting actress. After this film she has retired from the film industry.

Throughout her career, Rakhee has won 8 major awards. In 1973, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for 'Daag'. She also received the BFJA Award for the same. She has won the National Film Award for '27 Down' in 1974. She bagged Filmfare Award for Best Actress for 'Tapasya' in 1976, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for 'Ram Lakhan' in 1989 and Padma Shri Award in 2003. Besides this , she was nominated for the best actress and best supporting actress for 13 times in her career.