Rekha is the ultimate diva, ageless and getting more reclusive as she moves ahead in life, but there are some people like Hema Malini she says she feels deeply connected to and who always have "access" to her.

So, while all those who wished to greet her on her birthday last month had to leave messages on her answering machine, the famously reserved Rekha did speak to her close friends.

She turned a year older -- or was it younger? -- on Oct 10. She told candidly: "It isn't as if I don't want to reach out to people... Of course I do. I'm a normal healthy woman. But, to me, reaching out to people, making demands over their time and attention, is an encroachment. I'd rather connect once in a while. That's enough to keep me going."

"Unfortunately I was out of town this year on my birthday. So I couldn't return everyone's call. But, yes, I did speak to some close friends, like Hemaji who always has access to me. She and I go back a long way. And we're very fond of each other... I've heard that she wants to direct me. She just has to ask. There're some people whom I can never say no to. We may speak once in a while. But I'm deeply connected to these people."

Work-wise Rekha seems to have got wiser after the fiasco that was "Bachke Rehna Re Baba". She's currently working in award-winning director Gautam Ghose's "Yatra". "It's being shot at one stretch in Hyderabad. I like working that way. I like working with a filmmaker who knows his job so well. My co-star is Nana Patekar."

Though both of them were part of the cast in Ram Gopal Varma's "Bhoot", Rekha has never worked with Nana before. "It is a good experience, and I hope my fans won't be disappointed this time."

Sure of her convictions, Rekha stands by "Bachke Rehna Re Baba". "I had fun shooting the film. I can't control the way it finally turns out. My job is to give my best to all my films. And that's what I'm doing. Beyond that no one can really predict the outcome of a film.

"In fact I'm doing another fun film called 'Kudiyon Ka Zamana' with Mahima Chowdhary. Again it's an all-girls-whooping-it-up kind of caper. It's directed by a gentleman called Amar Butala. Let's see how it shapes up. If it works I'm fine. If it doesn't I'm still fine. You never know about success. When I did 'Sawan Bhadon' so many years ago I never knew what was in store for me."

She reminisces cautiously about her Christopher Columbus, Mohan Segal, who passed away recently.

"I'm apprehensive about saying anything. Nothing I say can express the way I feel about Mohanji's loss. Some time ago I lost another dear friend and mentor Sunil Dutt Saab. When I read what I had said about him it sounded devoid of true feeling. I guess deep bonds are better left unstated. I'll say one thing about Mohanji. He was god's own child. So frail and small and yet so full of joy.

"Mohanji just made you feel so good about life. He could recognize good human beings because he was so good himself. I met him for the last time two years ago at his son Deepak and daughter-in-law Bela's place. His health was failing. But his spirit was completely alive. When I look back on my life I feel some people were decisive to my career. Mohanji was certainly one of them."