Remember Bollywood's leading lady, who won the National Award at 20 for only her second film? We are talking about Rehana Sultan - the first graduate from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to bag a lead role in a Bollywood film. Born in Allahabad, Rehana started her career at the age of 19 with the 1970 film 'Dastak', wherein she featured in a rather bold role. Soon after this, the actress grabbed her second flick titled 'Chetna,' which revolved around the rehabilitation of sex workers. However, more than its controversial storyline, the movie became infamous due to Rehana’s bold scenes. She even won the National Award for Best Actress for her performance, but back-to-back bold roles typecasted her in the industry. After 'Chetna' and 'Dastak’s success, Rehana was offered only bold roles that required her to shoot intimate scenes, and eventually, her career started going downhill. After realizing the roles she got offered were not substantial and only added for titillation, the actress started declining them and instead opted to do smaller, supporting roles. Despite working in successful films like 'Khote Sikkay', 'Agent Vinod', and 'Kissa Kursi Ka', Rehana's films largely remained unnoticed. After her husband, BR Ishara’s death in 2012, Rehana moved away from the limelight and in 2018, it was reported that the actress was living in poverty. For more news and updates, stay tuned to ETimes.
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