4 min readNew DelhiAug 7, 2026 12:05 PM IST
Veteran actor Rekha started her career amid many struggles at an early age in Hindi cinema, and it is said that Rekha had to transform herself to impress the makers and audience of Bollywood. In a recent interview, her brother-in-law, actor Tej Sapru, spoke about Rekha’s transformation and said that the way she groomed herself was quite commendable. Rekha started her career as a leading lady in the 1970 film Sawan Bhadon, but in just a span of a few years, the industry was awed by the changes in her looks and her styling.
In a chat with Rediff Originals’ YouTube channel, Tej shared that he married Rekha’s half-sister Dhanalakshmi in 1987 but even before that, Rekha was like a sister to him as she used to “nearly tie rakhi” to him. Dhanalakshmi is the daughter of actor Pushpavalli and cinematographer K Prakash, and Rekha is the daughter of Pushpavalli and actor Gemini Ganesan. When asked about the misconceptions that the audience might have about Rekha, Tej said that while he couldn’t speak much about that, but mentioned that he holds Rekha in the highest regard for the amount of hard work she put in to improve herself for the camera.
Rekha made her Hindi film debut in the 1970 film Sawan Bhadon.
“I can tell you that as an actress, the way she groomed herself, I don’t think anyone can do that. I give her complete credit for it. When she started working in the movies, at that time she was fat… Everyone knows that. The way she groomed herself…” he recalled and added that even Rekha recently told him that she had to groom herself, while her sister Dhanalakshmi was like her mother.
Tej said that he was awed when he watched Rekha on the reality show Indian Idol recently. “I recently watched her on Indian Idol. The grace she has… She is also a tremendous singer. Even her handwriting when she writes notes or letters… I have not seen that in anyone,” he said and added, “For a woman who was fat, she changed it and the way she changed herself, I really admire that.”
In a chat with Simi Garewal back in the 1980s, Rekha was asked about her “metamorphosis” and she said, “To be beautiful. To be a complete beautiful woman, you have to be physically fit. If you can manage to be slim, fine. Definitely not fat. Fat is ugly.”
Rekha on Indian Idol 12.
In the same chat, Tej also spoke about his love story with Dhanalakshmi and shared that she would visit his home quite often as she was friends with his sister Preeti. “She used to visit my house as she was my sister’s friend. She was always so simple, always dressed in a saree. I don’t think she ever even got her eyebrows done. I had a different life back then with girlfriends and all,” he shared.
Tej said that whenever he saw Dhanalakshmi at his home, she was always immersed in a book but sometimes, he would catch her looking at him. “I had an inkling that she liked me but I felt she was too simple,” he said.
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He shared that he was married previously but that didn’t work out. Since Tej was married, Rekha sent her sister Dhanalakshmi to the US to live with their older sister Radha’s home, and was starting to look for matches for her, and they had even started meeting a few prospective matches there. Right around the same time, Tej was getting a divorce.
“While I was getting divorced, my sister called Dhanalakshmi in the US and told her not to get married there. My family was in her support. Gradually, I also started liking her,” he recalled and said that he married Dhanalakshmi in 1987 after his divorce was finalised. “I think I made the right decision,” he said.
He shared that even Rekha vouches for him. “She says that the best thing to happen to my younger sister is you. The way you have taken care of her, no one can. God has been kind that way,” he said.
