Actress Moushumi Chatterjee was among the top and best-paid actors in the 1970s. In an interview with Filmfare, recently, Moushumi discussed her competition with Rekha and how the actress used to believe that she had control over Vinod Mehra’s life. She asserted that Rekha used to be jealous of her.
“She Thought I Was Controlling Vinod Mehra”: Moushumi Opens Up on Rekha
When asked about her bond with her female contemporaries, Moushumi recalled her rivalry with Rekha and said, “Rekha used to think I’m controlling Vinod Mehra’s life. Because she is sitting in his house, and (Vinod’s) mother used to tell me, ‘Indu, Vinod ki cupboard mein se envelope nikal do’ (Indu, bring the envelope from Vinod’s cupboard). So naturally, she used to not like it and I used tell his mother why do you ask me, she is sitting there, you go and take it and then she used to say I don’t care. I was the victim. Somehow she used to feel Vinod used to listen to me more than anybody else.”
Rekha Would Make Faces at Me, Says Moushumi
She also remembered Rekha would come and make faces at her. But Moushumi then disclosed scolding her and remembered that Rekha became restless. Moushumi told that she does not know if Rekha would remember it now or not.
Moushumi remembered a scene from Prem Bandhan, when director Ramanand Sagar had instructed her to take off her heels because there was a scene and Rekha, her co-star, was barefoot. But Moushumi did not agree to do that, and she explained that she was an educated woman who came from a particular background. She claimed that rather than requesting her to remove her shoes, the production team can make do with the situation, even proposing they give Rekha a stool so that there would be no height difference.
Rekha Tried to Snatch My Role in Daasi: Moushumi Chatterjee
Moushumi also remembered one more incident when Rekha attempted to steal her character in Daasi and remarked, “She got tired playing the second woman. She insisted on Raj Khosla, ‘Give me the role of Dassi, I should be Sanjeev Kumar’s wife. Let her do this one.’ I remember all his assistants, Sagar and others, they were laughing. He was a little high when she made that request, so he just said, ‘Mereko poora story change karna padega’ (I’ll have to change the entire story). Which angle does Moushumi looks Tara bai?”
For the uninitiated, Moushumi and Rekha shared screen space in a number of films such as Prem Bandhan, Maang Bharo Sajana, Dildaar, Jyoti Bane Jwala, and Bhola Bhola to name a few. Moushumi was last seen in the Bengali film Aarii. Directed by Jiit Chakraborty, the action drama also starred Yash Dasgupta and Nusrat Jahan. The film depicted the sacrifices and emotional relationships between a bereaved mother and her caregiving son and did well at the box office.
