Gemini Ganesan Death Anniversary: Rekha’s Unspoken Bond with Her Father!

Gemini Ganesan Death Anniversary: Gemini Ganesan was one of the trio of superstars from the south, Sivaji Ganesan and MG Ramachandran being the other two. Gemini Ganesan was also known as the King of Romance, a title that was given years later to lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri. Gemini had thousands of girls who were ready to die for him, but he married three women, Anjevulu, Pushpavalli, and Savitri. He had many children from his three wives, but Pushpavalli's daughter Bhanurekha was the only one who turned into a star and is now a living icon called Rekha.

Gemini had a huge family, but he was never a part of the family. And he did not care when Bhanurekha decided to become an actress and even came to Bombay to make a career in Hindi films.

Gemini never had a good relationship with his daughter Bhanurekha and they didn't even talk to each other for years until Rekha became a superstar. I tried my best to find out what could have gone wrong between the famous father and his very famous daughter, but I never gave up on my quest to know the truth behind Rekha's passionate hatred for her father.

My friend Naseeruddin Shah once said that if you pursue your dream with passion, the universe conspires to make it come true. And that is exactly what happened between me and my determination to know the truth between Gemini Ganesan and Rekha...

We were having our South Screen Awards in Chennai and the jury had decided to give Gemini Ganesan the Lifetime Achievement Award. But my management (Indian Express) wanted to know who would give Gemini Ganesan the award and I whipped my head into another loop and said his daughter Rekha would honour her father. Almost everyone from the South and Bombay said I was a fool and what I had dreamed would definitely not come true because of the feud between father and daughter.

I met Rekha and didn't say a word to her about presenting the award to my father but requested her to be the chief guest at the award ceremony in Chennai and she readily agreed but she had one condition, she wanted her poodle Pixie to fly with her. Okey agreed to all her conditions.

On the morning of their flight to Chennai, Pixie created chaos at the airport when she broke free from Rekha's hands and ran towards the runway and Rekha cried until the airport security guard rescued Pixie and returned her back to Rekha, who cried happily this time...

In Chennai, Rekha had the option of staying at her mother Pushpavalli's house or staying at the Taj. She chose the Taj.

The next evening there was an awards function and Rekha called me to her suite and asked me for all the details and I told her everything but the Lifetime Achievement Award which I was both excited and scared about.

The award ceremony was grand with stars like Sivaji Ganesan, MG Ramachandran, Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan, Sunil Dutt, Shatrughan Sinha, Jeetendra and a large number of audience in attendance. Rekha entered like a queen and did not even look at her father who was looking at her with the worried and shocked eyes of a father. Rekha was still not aware of which award she had to give to her father and I also managed to hide this secret from him.

The grand moment I had planned was about to begin. The announcement was made in Tamil and two men grabbed Gemini Ganesan and took him to the stage. He had tears in his eyes but he did not yet know what was in store for him. This was followed by another announcement and this time it was for Rekha who looked completely stunned and therefore more beautiful as she made her way to the stage. She hugged her father whom she had met after many years and both father and daughter embraced each other lovingly which lasted for several minutes while the entire audience gave a standing and tremendous ovation. It was a moment that history will record in tears made of gold.

Gemini was very ill when he received the award from his daughter. He was suffering from kidney failure and a few days after receiving the Screen Award, all his organs failed and he died of multi-organ failure on March 22, 2005 and the entire industry from the South attended his funeral and so did his family, but Rekha did not attend her father's funeral.

What could be that bending and bowing thing which can make a daughter hate her father so much and treat him like an enemy throughout her life.

Tags: Rekha Bharadwaj | Rekha Biography | Rekha Birthday | rekha birthday celebration | rekha birthday date | rekha birthday special 

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