Veteran superstar and politician Hema Malini extended warm birthday wishes to her longtime friend and fellow actor Rekha, who turned 72 on Saturday.The ‘Dream Girl’ took to her social media account to share pictures with Rekha, and celebrated their enduring friendship and wished her happiness, good health and prosperity.Sharing a picture of the two actresses posing closely together, Hema wished Rekha on her special day.The picture captures the veteran stars smiling warmly for the camera.Hema wrote, “Happy birthday dear Rekha God bless you always with joy, good health and prosperity.”The actresses have known each other since their younger days and have shared screen space in several films over the years.Hema Malini during an episode of the singing reality show ‘Indian Idol’, had opened up about her early association with Rekha, revealing that they knew each other long before the latter became a prominent name in Hindi cinema.Recalling their days in Chennai, Hema shared that she was learning Bharatanatyam and had also begun training in Kuchipudi under renowned dance guru Vempati Chinna Satyam.Rekha, who was much younger at the time, would also attend the dance classes.Hema recalled Rekha being notorious and how their guru would often complain that the young girl would run away from dance rehearsals, making it difficult to catch her.Hema also remembered an early stage performance in which Rekha played Narad Muni in a Kuchipudi dance ballet based on the story of Krishna, Rukmini and Satyabhama. She said Rekha looked adorable in the costume and delivered a wonderful performance.She also revealed that their mothers, Pushpavalli and Jaya Chakravarty, shared the same birthday, January 3, and that their families would celebrate the occasion together.For the uninitiated, Hema Malini and Rekha have shared screen space in many films across different phases of their careers.Their collaborations include ‘Gora Aur Kala’, ‘Kahte Hain Mujhko Raja’, ‘Dharmatma’, ‘Apne Apne’ and ‘Jaan Hatheli Pe’.
