Long before Lady Diana and Gen Z popularised the ‘revenge dress’, Rekha was doing ‘revenge fashion’ with her reincarnated avatar in the 1988 cult classic, Khoon Bhari Maang. Eccentric headgear, leather outfits, lace gloves, pearls—Rekha’s sartorial choices dominated Rakesh Roshan’s thriller. She proved that getting revenge does not need to be just bloody, it can be extremely fashionable too.
Khoon Bhari Maang was typical of the outlandish commercial films of ’80s Bollywood.
Inspired by the Australian mini-series Return to Eden (1983), the plot is centered around a woman wronged, who, on a quest for vengeance, transforms herself through plastic surgery. It’s this transformation that allows her to take revenge on her second husband who tried to murder her.
The audience lapped it up. The movie was a commercial success and was nominated in seven categories at the Filmfare Awards. It was Rekha’s comeback film and won her the Best Actress award as well.
Twists and turns
Khoon Bhari Maang is a delicious exercise in excess and melodrama. It predated the over-the-top soaps of the 2000s—the kind that Ekta Kapoor popularised—with their avalanche of scheming partners, plastic surgeries, and betrayals.
The plot is full of outlandish twists and turns, all crammed in under three hours. Having lost her husband, Aarti (Rekha) is coming to terms with the death of her father (Saeed Jaffrey), who is killed by his employee Hiralal (Kader Khan). Hiralal is determined to gain control over the family’s wealth and gets his handsome nephew Sanjay Verma (Kabir Bedi) to court her. She ultimately marries the nephew, who is actually in love with her best friend Nandini (Sonu Walia). Soon after the wedding, Sanjay pushes Aarti into a lake full of crocodiles where she is attacked and mauled. Her body is never found.
Cut to Aarti’s ‘rebirth’ as Jyoti. She is physically scarred but transformed through plastic surgery. Jyoti, now a glamorous model, avenges her death with chiselled good looks and an exquisite fashion sense.
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Ugly duckling stereotype?
Khoon Bhari Maang rests squarely on Rekha’s shoulders who delivers the bechari-turned-glam-and-fierce act with absolute panache.
Viewers root for her revenge, which is delivered vigilante-style. Whether she is Aarti, dressed in drab cotton sarees, demure and in need for support of a man, or the phoenix-like Jyoti, Rekha shines in every frame.
“When I wrote the script, I did not have any star cast in my mind. I just knew Rekha would play the lead heroine’s role… she was the best choice for it. She looks beautiful in both Indian and Western attire,” said Roshan in an interview.
With able support from Kabir Bedi who plays the suave, good-looking villain, to Kader Khan who plays the slimy, alcoholic mastermind, and even Shatrughanh Sinha as JD as a sidekick of sorts, Rekha balances a fine act.
Khoon Bhari Maang dismantles the stereotype that only heroes can save the day and the movie. But it does little to subvert the ‘ugly duckling to swan’ trope.
Animal farm
What stands out in the movie are the animals. Crocodiles, much like the recent Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (2024), are a part of the story’s plot. The film’s writer, Kanika Dhillon, even spoke how including crocodiles in her latest film was a hat tip to Rekha’s blockbuster hit. It is the crocodile attack on Aarti that sets into motion her plans of revenge, and they deliver poetic justice by the end of the movie.
Another crucial animal character in the film is that of Aartis’ pet dog Jumbo. Even as her unfathomable transformation fools everyone, Jumbo knows his mistress when he smells her for the first time after her comeback.
Such over-the-top plots were par for the course at the time. The 1970s and 1980s saw films like Mera Naam Joker (1970), Sachaa Jhutha (1970), Betaab (1983), Mard (1985), and Teri Meherbaniyan (1985). In many instances, the dogs are loyal to their owners, helping them avenge wrongdoings and even identifying villains.
Aarti’s horse Raja, too, recognises her and helps her get her revenge. It is only the humans who fail her.