Born on January 7, 1957, Reena Roy's birth name is Saira Ali. She was born in Mumbai to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother. Her parents divorced and it is said she got into films to support her family. (All photos/mid-day archives)
Reena Roy debuted in B. R. Ishara's film 'Zaroorat'. The film did not perform well at the box-office, but Reena Roy was determined to make it big in Bollywood.
Reena Roy grabbed eyeballs when she starred opposite Jeetendra in 'Jaise Ko Taisa' and the song from the film 'Ab Ke Saawan Main Jee Dare' became a hit overnight.
Jeetendra and Reena Roy have worked in 22 films together and in 17 movies they were paired romantically. 12 of the 17 films where she was paired opposite Jeetendra were super-hits.
She has acted with Shashi Kapoor in four films - 'Yaadon Ki Zanjeer', 'Bezuban', 'Rahu Ketu', 'Ganga Aur Suraj'.
Reena and Raj Babbar have appeared in 8 films together - 'Aap Jaisa Koi Nahin', 'Ek Chitthi Pyar Bhari', 'Inteha', 'Maati Maangey Khoon', 'Naukar Biwi Ka', 'Arpan', 'Lakshmi', 'Sau Din Saas Ke'.
At the peak of her career, Reena Roy got married to Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan in 1983. She even took a break from Bollywood after her marriage. However, the cross-border marriage fell apart eventually and Reena Roy came back to Bollywood in 1992. She even campaigned for the Indian National Congress.
Her second stint in Bollywood wasn't as successful as her previous one, but she managed to get some good films.
Reena Roy even acted in a television show 'Eena Meena Deeka' which was directed by her sister, Barkha.
Reena Roy has a daughter with her ex-husband Mohsin Khan named Sanam. She had initially lost custody of her daughter, but since her husband got remarried, she regained Sanam's custody.
Her film 'Aasha' was a blockbuster and the highest earner of 1980. The movie surpassed the earnings of movies such as 'Kaalapatthar', 'The Great Gambler' which were Amitabh Bachchan-starrers.
Reena Roy was also seen in the J. P. Dutta film Refugee, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. She played Anupam Kher's wife Amina Mohammad.
In the 1980's she was one of the top paid actresses in Bollywood, but after 'Refugee' she hasn't appeared in any Bollywood film.
She was in the news for wanting to launch her daughter Sanam in Bollywood, but so far nothing has materialised on that end.
In 2014, Reena Roy made headlines after she underwent bariatric surgery. Low on confidence with her weight touching 122 kg, Reena Roy had shunned the public eye for almost 8 years.
Reena Roy had become obese due to inactivity and a niggling health issue. After a hiatus, she returned to Bollywood as a character actor in the '90s. But a health issue kept her from working since 2000. After 2006-2007, Roy stopped stepping out of the house and attending events.
A source close to the Roy family said (in an interview in 2014), 'Reenaji has avoided being photographed since several years. She wants the world to know her as she was and not what she is now. Over the last couple of years, her sister Barkha had been requesting her to undergo bariatric surgery done under the supervision of their family friend and bariatric surgeon, Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, but Reenaji was hesitant. She finally complied now.'
Reena Roy was rumoured to be in a relationship with actor Shatrughan Sinha, but those rumours ended when he married Poonam Sinha, also a former actress.
Apparently, the Reena-Shatrughan affair is also mentioned in Shatrughan Sinha's biography - 'Anything But Khamosh'. (Read: Shatrughan Sinha confesses to affair with 'baharwali' in biography)
Reena Roy and Shatrughan Sinha's affair rumours reached a peak when they did the film 'Hathkadi' together. The song 'Disco Station' featuring Reena Roy is a cult classic even today.
Shatrughan Sinha's book 'Anything But Khamosh: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography' by Bharathi S Pradhan captures the veteran actor's life in an honest and unflattering manner.
One of the chapters in the book has 'Shotgun' talking about his off-screen intimacy with co-actor Reena Roy and how the relationship continued for some time even after his marriage with Poonam.
Reena Roy along with her sisters even started an acting academy, but it didn't help her reach the pinnacle of success.
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