When Rekha Recited A Gulzar Nazm To Describe Shah Rukh Khan: 'Rooh Dekhi Hain Kabhi...'

Bollywood’s evergreen beauty Rekha turns 69 today, on October 10. While she has made friends with many actors in the film industry, including Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut and Vidya Balan, her favorite seems to be Shah Rukh Khan. During a 2017 event, Rekha was invited to honour Shah Rukh Khan with the Yash Chopra Memorial Award. Alongside veteran actors like Shatrughan Sinha and Padmini Kolhapure, she shared her thoughts about Shah Rukh. It was her speech that truly captured attention.

She recited a poem by Gulzar, Rooh Dekhi Hai Kabhi, to describe her feelings for Shah Rukh Khan. She talked about how a soul turns into a diamond when it burns, conveying that she felt a special and pure soul in Shah Rukh. “Have you ever seen a soul? Felt it? A body burns a hundred times but still turns to ash. But a soul, when it burns, turns into a diamond," she said. Speaking to the audience, she mentioned that she hadn’t seen a ‘soul,’ but had experienced a remarkably ‘pure’ and ‘special’ soul in her life. “That person, I don’t know how many times that person has killed his soul, since his childhood. Which is why he has been shining like a diamond. I pray to God, that the way he has made us smile, he is a beautiful human being. Talent flows in his veins. But more than that, he has love to offer, which all of us have seen," she said about Shah Rukh.

She also recalled a memorable incident involving the superstar while they were travelling together. She said, “We were travelling to some show and we were on the airplane. I was so tired of working day and night. I had almost gone off to sleep when I was woken up by sounds of ‘Rekha ji, Rekha ji please uthiye na! Rekha ji. Khidki niche kijiye na aur Bahar dekhiye nazara kitna khoobsurat, sunset hai. Use baad so jaaiyega (Please wake up, roll down your window. It’s such a beautiful sunset outside. You can go back to sleep after that).’ I did not see the sunset but turned around in slow motion, looked at him. It was Shah Rukh Khan. I looked into his eyes and felt bhaiyya, ye humari biradari ka insaan hai (He’s a man of my kind)."