Amitabh Bachchan & Rekha – You cannot talk of jodis and omit the most contentious and gossiped about jodi of the 70’s. Their clandestine meetings and very public affair made headlines all the time, but if we look at their films together, their jodi is simply iconic. Amitabh and Rekha did an astonishing 12 films together, but each film has their stamp of sexy chemistry together. Producers obviously knew the appeal of these two, and capitalized on their affair and most of their films were resounding successes. One of their best films together is Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978); Bachchan plays Sikandar, another variation of his ‘Angry Young Man’ persona, who does not receive the love of his Memsaab (Rakhee), but Zohrabai (Rekha) the local courtesan woos him. Again we see Rekha’s character try and seduce Bachchan’s persona, which was quite similar to what happened off screen. Their harmony on screen is very similar to the Raj Kapoor and Nargis jodi, sometimes the audience can feel like voyeurs when watching their romantic scenes together, but it also lends some honesty to their films together. These were two people in love at the height of their careers, giving indelible performances together, perhaps maybe too much in the landmark film Silsila (1980). Though they avoid each other at functions these days, their love remains on screen for all to enjoy.
