This actress got married at 14, was cheated in love, became single mother, faced poverty, her daughter is superstar..

Rekha is a Bollywood superstar and has earned a name for herself through her hard work of over 40 years in the film industry. While people are aware of Rekha's father Gemini Ganesan, a superstar of the South industry, not many people know about Rekha's mother Pushpavalli who was also an actress who mainly worked in Telugu and Tamil films. Pushpavalli, superstar Rekha's mother, entered the film industry as a child actress. She played the role of young Sita in 'Sampoorna Ramayanam' (1936). While Pushpavalli played many roles as a child actor and then as an adult, she always remained more in the news because of the tragedies in her personal life. 

Pushpavalli was one of the only working members of her family and was paid Rs 300 for her role in 'Sampoorna Ramayanam'. Because of being the only respectable earner of her family, Pushpavalli had to work since she was 9 which prevented her from completing her studies. Rekha's mother was 14 when she married a lawyer named I V Rangachari. However, the marriage did not last long and they began living apart. The couple had two children - Babji and Rama. 

In the film 'Miss Malini', released in 1947, Pushpavalli appeared on screen as a lead actress for the first time and earned immense fame. It was during this film that she met South actor Gemini Ganesan who made his debut with the film. However, soon, their roles in the film industry reversed as Gemini Ganesan became a huge star and Pushpavalli started getting only supporting roles after many flop films. 

However, both Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli fell in love and entered into a relationship, despite being married to other people at the time. Gemini Ganesan was married to Alamelu at the time. He remained married to her until his death. 

Gemini Ganesan loved Pushpavalli but he never acknowledged her as his wife or accepted their two children. Pushpavalli and Ganesan had two daughters - Bollywood superstar Rekha and Radha, an actress who worked in a handful of Tamil movies, before marrying and moving to the United States.

Gemini Ganesan did not acknowledge the paternity of the girls for several years and was only an infrequent visitor to Pushpavalli's house. Their relationship worsened quickly and the couple was soon estranged. 

After being estranged from Gemini Ganesan, Pushpavalli did a few more films but she never succeeded in becoming a big star. In her personal life, Pushpavalli soon moved on and married K Prakash, a cinematographer from Madras, with whom she had two more children - Dhanalakshmi and Seshu. 

The downfall in Pushpavalli's career had a huge impact on her family life. When Pushpavali became dependent on every penny, she put her daughter Rekha in films at an early age. On the insistence of her mother, Rekha started working in films at the age of 14. Though Rekha did not want to be an actress, family compulsion dragged her into the profession.

Pushpavalli was the happiest when Rekha became a Bollywood superstar at a young age. Her other daughter Radha married Syed Usman, a former Bollywood model, in 1976 and moved to the US. Pushpavalli settled both her children with Gemini Ganesan and this was a source of satisfaction for her. 

Pushpavalli died in 1991 of ailments associated with diabetes in Madras. 

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