Rekha opens up about the deep impact of her mother Pushpavalli: Rekha is definitely a doubt the most elegant female actor the Hindi cinema industry has ever seen. In addition to her own efforts, the actor’s parents, particularly her mother, played a significant role in shaping her personality and her on-screen presence. The legendary actor recently spoke candidly about the significant effect her late mother Pushpavalli had on creating her remarkable journey in the Hindi film industry.
Gemini Ganesan, a well-known Tamil actor, and Pushpavalli, a Telugu movie actress, were Rekha’s parents. Describing her mother as her mentor, Rekha told, “My mother was my mentor, a woman of such finesse she felt like a goddess, a devi. She taught me the grace of living with gentility and love. She always said I should never lose the ankh ki chamak, or ‘twinkle in the eyes,’ because it is that joyful perception that makes one appreciate the beauty of a tiny seed that grows into a majestic tree. She also advised me wisely to practice what I love, not what I preach. She set the benchmark for me because my mother walked the talk.”
2010 saw the prestigious Padma Shri Award given to Rekha in honor of her talent and contributions to the film industry. Talking about how her mother taught her to be authentic even in how you live her daily life, Rekha said, “To make the ordinary extraordinary, I learned long ago that authenticity is key. But how do you recognize it? My mother taught me by just the way she lived and created a home that was very sensorial. I was immersed in her world of Sufi music, Urdu Shayari (poems), Chettinad art, and South Indian culture that I imbibed subliminally. She lived without synthetics, or plastics, and wore pure organic fabrics because everything she touched was sacred to her. This sense of adoration for the aesthete has never left me.”
Rekha lost her mother in 1991, leaving a deep void in her life. The actor, however, still follows to her mother’s values in her private life and the way she plays her roles on screen.