{"id":111864,"date":"2025-11-01T05:03:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T05:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/111864\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T05:03:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T05:03:15","slug":"when-rekha-fiercely-defended-aishwarya-rai-against-plastic-accusations-i-will-fight-for-her-like-a-tigress-if-need-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/111864\/","title":{"rendered":"When Rekha fiercely defended Aishwarya Rai against ‘plastic’ accusations, ‘I will fight for her like a tigress if need be’ |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"When Aishwarya Rai<\/a> Bachchan is known globally as one of the most beautiful women, but her flawless looks have sometimes attracted unfair criticism, with some dismissing her as ‘plastic’. While Aishwarya<\/a> herself has stated she prefers being called ‘real’, she once found a fierce and unexpected defender in the legendary actress Rekha<\/a>, who strongly came to her defense.<\/p>\n

A fierce defense against critics<\/p>\n

In a throwback interview from 2006, Rekha directly challenged the media’s portrayal of Aishwarya. “Among the models I admire, I find Aishwarya is the best. I disagree with the media that she is ‘plastic’. I find her very expressive,” she stated. She then made a powerful promise of support for the younger actress: “I will fight for her like a tigress if need be.” Rekha explained her empathy by comparing Aishwarya’s journey to her own early career. “My heart goes out to Ash. She’s been around for so long and yet not been there,” she said, adding, “That’s how it was with me…until I did ‘Umrao’.”<\/p>\n

A call to recognize homegrown talent<\/p>\n

The veteran star elaborated on the comparison, referencing her own iconic, breakthrough role. She expressed hope that Aishwarya would find a similar defining moment. “It seemed improbable that a Tamilan girl talking Urdu would work. Similarly this South Indian girl should realize her potential in ‘Umrao’,” Rekha said, likely referencing the 2006 remake Aishwarya was starring in.Rekha also questioned the focus on Aishwarya’s international career, which included films like ‘Bride & Prejudice’ at the time. “She doesn’t need to go to Hollywood to prove herself. She’s our own… Who are these people from outside trying to tap Ash’s potential? She’s our treasure. It’s time we acknowledge her.” <\/p>\n

A heartfelt letter of admiration<\/p>\n

The deep mutual respect between the two actresses has been evident for years, as they often greet each other with great affection at public events. Rekha once famously penned a heartfelt open letter to Aishwarya, separate from the interview, praising her character and spirit.”My Ash, A woman like you who is in harmony with her spirit is like a flowing river, never stagnant,” Rekha wrote. “People may forget what you said, they may also forget what you did but they will never forget how you made them feel. You are a living example that courage is the most important of all the virtues… Your deep strength and pure energy introduce you even before you speak!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is known globally as one of the most beautiful women, but her flawless looks have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[80034,156,80037,409,111,139,69,80033,80035,80036],"class_list":["post-111864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-aishwarya-rai-plastic-accusations","tag-entertainment","tag-film-industry-challenges","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rekha-defends-aishwarya-rai","tag-rekha-interview-2006","tag-support-for-aishwarya-rai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}