Rekha made her debut as an actress in the successful Kannada movie Goa Dalli CID 999 in 1969. In that same year, she featured in her first Bollywood film, Anjana Safar. She had two films released in 1970: the Telugu film Amma Kosam and the Hindi movie Sawan Bhadon, which was considered her acting debut in Bollywood. She had to learn Hindi, as her naturally spoken language was Tamil. Sawan Bhadon became a superhit and Rekha a overnight star. Despite the success of her movies, she was often roped in for her looks.
She subsequently got several offers but nothing of substance. Her characters were mostly just of a glamour lass. She appeared in several commercially successful movies like Kahani Kismat Ki, Rampur Ka Lakshman and Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye, yet Rekha was not regarded for her acting abilities.Some of her most notable films during the decade include the international movie Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love and the commercially successful Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi in 1996 and Umraao Jaan.
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