Twenty four years after it first released in 1981, Rekha's Umrao Jaan re-releases in theatres on June 27.
A grand screening was held for film folk in Mumbai, and Bollywood turned up, suitably dressed in dazzling desi wear.
Rekha, 70, looks stunning in a white and gold outfit, reminiscent of her Umrao Jaan character.
Director Muzaffar Ali, seen here with AR Rahman, once told Rediff that when he was planning his dream project, he wanted someone with the 'adaa' and 'nazaakat' of a poetess and with a seductive stance of a 'tawaif'.
One day, he saw Rekha's pictures in a magazine and knew he found his leading lady.
'It was those eyes,' he said.
Alia Bhatt recreates Rekha's timeless look from 1981's Silsila at the screening.
The look was styled by Rhea Kapoor.
Did you know that in 1981, Rekha had as many as 14 movie releases?
Rekha gives Tabu a warm hug and welcome at the screening.
Janhvi Kapoor.
Khushi Kapoor.
Nushrratt Bharuccha.
Fatima Sana Shaikh.
Nimrat Kaur.
Aamir Khan.
Vijay Varma.
Muzzafar Ali with his family: Son Shaad Ali, wife Meera Ali, daughter Sama Ali and son-in-law Kaeshav Sahnan.
Anil Kapoor dances with Rekha.
Simi Garewal.
Alizeh Agnihotri.
Anjini Dhawan.
Sophie Choudry.
Hema Malini.
Johnny Lever.
Mira Rajput Kapoor.
Asha Bhosle, seen here with granddaughter Zanai, is the voice behind Rekha's evergreen songs like Dil Cheez Kya Hai, In Aankhon Ke Masti and Justuju Jiski Hai.
Tanishaa Mukerji with mother Tanuja.
Ila Arun and Nandita Puri.
Mahima Chaudhry with daughter Aryana and nephew, Ryan.
Sunny Kaushal with his parents, Veena and Sham Kaushal, and Jackie Shroff.
Manish Malhotra.
Sunil Grover.
Nandita Das.
Sanjay Khan with wife Zarine and daughter Simone Arora.
Rekha catches up with her Lajja Director Rajkumar Santoshi, and his wife Manila and daughter Tanisha.
Baba Azmi with wife Tanvi Azmi.
Tusshar Kapoor with father Jeetendra and Rakesh Roshan.
Ramesh Sippy with Kiran Juneja.
Photographs: Panna Bandekar, curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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