Rakhee, the quintessential Bengali actress hit big in the tinsel town of Bollywood. She hailed from an ordinary and non-filmi family and was born on the day India attained Independence. It was not easy for her in the industry to break the norms and prove her detractors wrong by her classic acts.

She was given a break by the producer-actor Sunil Dutt in his movie Reshma aur Shera and though noticed, she did not make it to the top. But Rakhee did not give up. She went on to do small roles in movies like Falakand Laal Patthar in which she was overshadowed by the already established Hema Malini.

She married Ajoy Biswas, a film producer and journalist. Things started going sour when she was rejected in her own husband's directorial movie. In the meantime, she was offered a Rajshri Film opposite the then heartthrob Dharmendra in Jeevan Mrityu. The film went on to be a super hit and the song 'Jhilmil Sitaron Ka' was a rage. This was the beginning of stardom for the incredibly talented Rakhee. The super stardom also had downsides. She divorced Ajoy Biswas but that did not hinder her acting career. She continued her trail of hits with movies like Blackmail, Sharmilee, Daag, Heera Panna etc.

Audiences adored her for both her acting prowess and her haunting beauty with a lilting voice and colored eyes. She went on a winning spree of Film Fare awards for the movies Daag and Sharmilee. She was paired with all the popular heroes of her time and almost all her movies were great successes. But her best pairing was with none other than the Big B Amitabh Bachchan.

Meanwhile, at the peak of her career she married filmmaker Gulzar. Unluckily, she did not get to work in his meaningful films though she garnered great respect. She matured as an actress too. With Amitabh she worked both as his heroine and as his mother too. Her versatility in movies like Kabhie Kabhie, Kala Pathar, Trishul, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Laawaris, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Shakti were applauded. They even celebrated silver jubilees. Her decision did not waver even when few critics ridiculed her for making a transition to motherly roles in her early career.

She also worked with actors like Parikshit Sahni (Tapasya, Humkadam), Rakesh Roshan (Ankhon Ankhon Mein), Vinod Mehra (Bemisal). Her spree of being an on-screen mother continued till late nineties where she has been a mother to Anil Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. The list goes on endlessly but some of her noteworthy movies have been Ram Lakhan, Baazigar, Khalnayak, Anari, Karan Arjun, Border, Badshah, Rudali, Ek Rishta etc. She also won the award for best Supporting Actress for her role as a mother in Ram Lakhan.

An actress of great demeanor she will definitely remain the favourite heroine of yesteryears. And like her name, she shall still soar high in the sky.