Sachin, Rekha accept Rajya
Sabha nomination
Sachin Tendulkar, who turned 39 yesterday, will now become a
parliamentarian with the government nominating him to the House of Elders,
Rajya Sabha, along with actress of yesteryear Rekhaand industrialist Anu Aga. The nomination of the three eminent
personalities was tonight approved by President Pratibha Patil underArticle 80 of the
Constitution that allows the President
to nominate 12 members to the 250-member Upper House.The names of Tendulkar, who has brought many a laurel to the country through his exploits in the game, Rekha, known for her brilliant and emotional portrayals in Hindi cinema in the 80s, and industrialist and social worker Aga were sent by the Prime Minister to the home ministry yesterday for approval by the President.
70-year-old Aga, former chairperson of Thermax Industries and a member of the Sonia Gandhiled National Advisory Council, is a social worker who had figured among the richest Indians in the list by Forbes. Article 80 of the Constitution provides for nomination of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in matters such as literature, science, art and social service. 57-year-old Rekha was one of the top heroines of the 80s in Hindi films and and had won several national awards in her acting career.
Tendulkar's nomination to Rajya Sabha has come as a surprise against the backdrop of a long-standing demand for conferring of Bharat Ratna on him for his contribution to the game.
He completed the historic achievement of scoring 100 international centuries in March this year. Earlier in the day, Tendulkar, accompanied by his wife Anjali, met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at her residence. Tendulkar would be the first active sportsman and a cricketer to be nominated to Rajya Sabha.
The House already has a member from the film world in Javed Akhtar. Tendulkar is the first sports personality to be nominated to Rajya Sabha while there have been several film personalities who have been nominated in the past.
Rekha, actor and now Rajya Sabha MP
For most of her working life, newly appointed Rajya Sabha MP Rekha's image has been one of a glamorous yet mysterious femme fatale. But it wasn't always so. When she first started out as a lead actress, Rekha was ridiculed for being dark, overweight, and ungroomed. Nothing if not persistent, the censure only served to feed Rekha's determination to make it big as a Bollywood sex symbol. In a stunning transformation, much like her plain Jane to va va voom role in 1988 movie Khoon Bhari Maang, Rekha reinvented herself with the makeover of the century. Gone were the extra kilos, the garish outfits and the untamed eyebrows. Now svelte and stunning, there was no looking back for her.Bhanurekha Ganesan was born on October 10, 1954 in Chennai. She was the illegitimate daughter of Tamil star Gemini Ganesan and Telugu actress Pushpavalli. She was never acknowledged by Gemini Ganesan as his daughter, something that was to trouble her from childhood to her years in cinema. Later, she would ignore her father's attempts at reconciliation. Gemini Ganesan already had four daughters with his first wife, Alamelu. He had a second daughter with Pushpavalli, and another daughter and a son with second wife Savitri. So, Rekha has one sister, five half sisters and a half brother.
A 12 year old Rekha dropped out of school to supplement her mother's meager income as a child artiste. She appeared in Telugu film Rangula Ratnam in 1966 as Baby Bhanurekha. In 1969, she landed her first Hindi film, Anjana Safar, later claiming that she had been tricked into a kissing scene with actor Biswajit. The kiss was featured in Life magazine's Asian edition and the film itself would not be released till 1979, retitled Do Shikaari. Already slightly infamous for the kiss, Rekha then starred in Saawan Bhadon (1970), in what is considered her Bollywood debut. The hit movie instantly marked Rekha as an actress to watch. But despite striking box office gold so early, this was a difficult time for Rekha. Still a teenager, she struggled to learn Hindi and adapt to her new surroundings. She was also bewildered by the barrage of criticism about her "South Indian" appearance.
