Rekha is a rule breaker, we aren't saying this but Yasser Usman biography on the actress declares this. The enigmatic actress may now refuse to dole out interviews, but there was a time when she grabbed headlines for her statements that were not just considered bold, but also scandalous. Rekha was a revolution in the Hindi film industry where actresses had to carry the Miss Goody Two Shoe tag with them even beyond the screen. Rekha's statements like - "You can’t come close, really close, to a man without making love. It is sheer fluke that I have never got pregnant so far" earned her the notorious tag.

While the diva may be welcome today there was a time when the industry shunned the actress. In fact, Anupam Kher had said, "She’s become the national vamp. Professionally and personally, I think its curtains for her. I mean I don’t know how will I react to her if I come face to face with her." Rekha proved everyone wrong and continued to not just work in the industry, but she also went on to be one of the highest paid heroines of her time.

Rekha's relationships/marriage remained in news for all wrong reasons. Even today, people cannot stop talking about the actress' alleged affair with her Silsila co-star. However in an interview with Simi Garewal when the actress was asked if she was in love with Big B, Rekha had admitted, "Absolutely. Duh, that's a dumb question. 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 am not in love with him? Of course, I am. Duniya bhar ka love aap le lijiyega and add some more, I feel that for that person. Bottom line."

However, soon afterwards the Muqaddar Ka Sikander actress also said, " You want to know the truth? This is headline, OK? There was never a personal connection with him, that's the truth. Never ever. There was no truth to the controversies and speculation."

Rekha even went on to comment about her strained rapport with once good friend Jaya Bachchan, "Didibhai is much more mature, much more together. I've yet to come across a woman who is so together. She's got so much dignity, so much class. She's got a lot of strength. I admire that woman. We had an association before the so-called rumours and the media messed up the whole image. We were living in the same building and we had a relationship. She was my Didibhai, she still is - no matter what happens nobody can take that away. Thank God she realises that too. Whenever we meet she's very sweet - she's not just civil, she's just herself." 5 Throwback Pics of The Actress That Spell B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.

Considering that a few years back Rekha had made some rather contradicting comments about her Didibhai. As per Yasser Usman's biography, the actress had at an award function recited a poem that was a direct dig at Jaya Bachchan. The actress in an interview had narrated how Jaya Bachchan wept after watching her husband romance Rekha. 5 Controversies of the Movie Star That Make Rekha's Story the Perfect Biopic Material.

In the book, Rekha: The Untold Story, Rekha talks about an episode on why Amitabh Bachchan stopped working with her in movies and said, "Once I was looking at the whole family (Bachchan) through the projection room when they came to see the trial show of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Jaya was sitting in the front row and he and his parents were in the row behind her. They couldn’t see her as clearly as I could. And during our love scenes, I could see tears pouring down her face. A week later, everybody in the industry was telling me that he has made it clear to his producers that he was not going to work with me. Everybody else informed me about it but he didn’t say a word on the subject. When I tried to question him about it, he said, 'I am not going to say a word. Don’t ask me about it'."

Rekha for the first time opened up about Amitabh Bachchan like never before on Rendezvous With Simi Garewal, she confessed, "He was something I'd never seen before. I've never met anyone like him. How can so many good qualities be bestowed upon one person? I'm not a fool, I'm intelligent or so I'd like to believe. When I see a good thing, I can recognise it." Also read: Amitabh Bachchan’s Granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda Will NOT Enter Bollywood - Here's Why

And despite denying ever having a relationship with Bachchan Sr, the actress did say, "The fact that he was a married man doesn't make any kind of a difference. A rose is a rose is a rose. A human being is interesting, period. I want to have the honour of being associated with this person so what is stopping me? I'm not here to 'break' his home so to speak. I'm here to be one of the lesser mortals who can just have a whiff of him and feel happy."

No wonder Rekha is called a mystery and sometimes a paheli (riddle) too.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2018 08:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).