Veteran actress Rekha’s relationship with her father, the late Gemini Ganesan, has always been described as complicated. Over the years, Rekha has spoken openly about growing up without a father figure, while also carrying the weight of his multiple marriages. Now, an old interview of Gemini Ganesan has resurfaced, shedding light on how he saw his daughter’s life and choices.

In a conversation with Star & Style magazine, Gemini recalled a moment with Rekha when her younger sister, Radha Usman Syed better known as Gigi wanted to step into films. Rekha, already weary of the struggles she faced in the industry, had told him, “Appa, I am already suffering in this line. Why should my sister too go through the same hell?”

Despite her concerns, Gemini maintained that he never interfered in his children’s personal decisions. He explained that he preferred to let them deal with their own lives, even when it came to Rekha’s highly speculated relationship with Amitabh Bachchan. “People tell me that Rekha has messed up her personal life by getting involved with Amitabh. But I never discuss Rekha’s personal affair with her. Why should I?” he said.

Gemini also reflected on his own life, admitting that his marriages to Pushpavalli (Rekha’s mother) and actress Savitri caused a stir in the industry at the time. “When I married Savitri and Pushpavalli several years ago, eyebrows were raised, and it became the biggest scandal in the industry. And yet today no one is aghast when they hear about Dilip Kumar marrying Asma or Dharmendra marrying Hema. So, in one way I think I have been the trend setter for extramarital involvements in the industry,” he said candidly.

For Rekha, however, the absence of her father left a lasting mark. In a heartfelt interview with Simi Garewal years ago, she revealed that she never truly knew him. “I was a baby when he moved out of our lives. I don’t even remember him being at home,” she shared. She recalled being in the same school as her step-siblings, watching him drop them off, but never once feeling acknowledged by him. “Looking back, maybe I did miss him. But when you haven’t tasted something, you don’t know what it means. I didn’t know what the word ‘father’ meant,” Rekha said.

Between a father who distanced himself and a daughter who grew up learning to rely only on herself, their story remains one of the most complex chapter in Indian cinema.

Source : Times Now, The Indian Express