Eurekha!

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Eurekha!
Eurekha!- The Intimate Life Story of Rekha.jpg
AuthorMohan Deep
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
SubjectRekha
GenreBiography
Published17 December 1999
PublisherShivani Publications
Media typePrint
Pages284
ISBN978-81-90107-90-7

Eurekha!: The Intimate Life Story of Rekha is a biography by the columnist-cum-author Mohan Deep, detailing the life of the Indian film actress Rekha. The book describes her birth to the South Indian actors Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli in 1954, her marriage to the industrialist Mukesh Agarwal in 1990, which lasted the same year year after her husband committing suicide, and her career as a Bollywood actress. It was published on 17 December 1999 by Shivani Publications and received generally negative critical reviews.

Synopsis[]

The book opens with Rekha's birth to the unmarried couple Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli—both were South Indian actors—in 1954. It later chronicles how she started a career and achieve her career's breakthrough in Bollywood, examining several of her successful films including Khubsoorat (1980) and Umrao Jaan (1981), which won her the Filmfare Award and National Film Award for Best Actress, respectively. She married to the industrialist Mukesh Agarwal in 1990, but his husband died in the same year by suicide. The book continues with her resurgence in the industry with Phool Bane Angaray (1991), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), and Aastha: In the Prison of Spring (1997), all of which were success at the box office and received positive reviews from critics.

Development and release[]

Eurekha!: The Intimate Life Story of Rekha was written by the columnist-turned-author Mohan Deep. The word eurekha from its title was suggested by his friend, the journalist Chaitanya Padukane, who recommended him to combine the subject's name Rekha and the word eureka.[1] It was published on 17 December 1999 by Shivani Publications in English, and reprinted in Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati as Rekha O Rekha!;[2] it was later serialised in the Bengali-language magazine Anandalok.[3][4] An unauthorised biography, the book faced controversy after Rekha admitted that she was angry at Deep for chronicling her life without her permission.[5] She added that most of the book's information were false.[6]

Critical reception[]

Reviews for the book were generally scathing. Tara Patel of The Afternoon Despatch & Courier described Eurekha! as "an arrogant, crude example of how a woman, who happens to be a film star, can be victimised and exploited even while she lives", saying that it "deserved to be condemned, banned and burnt". She also wondered why Deep only chose women as subjects for every of his biographical books and challenged him to write on male stars, such as Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.[7][8] Mid-Day expressed similar thoughts, writing that Depp failed to chronicle his subject's life and career in a well writing style.[8] In contrast, The Telegraph's Ashok Banker wrote that "Mohan Deep has the guts to grab the tigress by the tail ...", believing his "delightfully scandalous narration of Rekha's doomed marriage to a business man is quite readable and fun".[7] V. Gangadhar from The Tribune felt that the book is full of "intimate details" of her personal life,[8] while India Today called it a "shoddily-[written] biography".[9]

The Asian Age observed that Deep "has her life in a no-holds-barred-manner", and the Hindustan Times opined, "... Creating a voyeuristic collection of titillating little episodes ... The prose is so purple, it would make a bunch of ripe grapes look pale lilac in comparison." Another writer from The After Despatch & Courier was more positive of the publication, thinking that Deep had not got any credits he deserved for his works and praising his effort of researching her life. The Free Press Journal commented, "... the enigma lies exposed as her life reflects the complexed, confused meanderings of a sharp and gifted individual." The Mumbai-based magazine Savvy said, "An unput-downable if there was one, your own vicarious curiosity for a fascinating film legend spurred by the fluid narration." Behram Contractor, using the nom de plume "Busybee" in his review, labelled it "a Sunset Boulevard of a book of a person who is arguably the biggest and defintely the most intriguing actress in Bollywood's history".[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Deep, Mohan (8 February 2013). "The Five Foolish Virgins". MohanDeep.net. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Buy Online". BigBollywood.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2002. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  3. ^ Deep, Mohan (17 December 1999). Eurekha!: The Intimate Life Story of Rekha. Shivani Publications. ISBN 978-81-90107-90-7.
  4. ^ "Rekha: Sue That Biographer". Filmfare. 28 September 1999. Archived from the original on 6 October 2001. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Rekha: Furious!". Filmfare. 27 February 2000. Archived from the original on 20 April 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Rekha dismisses biography as false". India Abroad. 3 March 2000. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2021. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Deep, Mohan (1999). "Rekha Sore at Mohan Deep!!!". MohanDeep.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Gangadhar, V. (27 February 2000). "Tale of two authors, three books". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. ^ "New releases". India Today. 22 November 1999. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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