# Amitabh Bachchan called Rekha move-in rumours a ‘big joke’ 2026-10-10T17:47:46+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Amitabh Bachchan, in a 1999 interview with Bhawana Somaaya for her book 'Amitabh Bachchan: The Legend', addressed persistent rumours about his alleged affair with co-star Rekha. Bachchan said if the media had 'unchallenged proof' he would respond, but otherwise staying silent was best. He called a rumour that Rekha had moved into his home Pratiksha 'damaging and misleading', and said gullible readers mistook photographs as proof. In a separate appearance on Simi Garewal's talk show, Bachchan dismissed any close personal relationship with Rekha, saying they had 'nothing in common socially' and had not worked together in 'donkey's years'. He described claims that he had moved in with her as 'a big joke'. Rekha, in a 2004 interview with Garewal, said she was 'completely, passionately, insanely' in love with Bachchan. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Indian Express and Times of India report the same facts from Bachchan's 1999 interview and his Simi Garewal show appearance, with near-identical quotes. The coverage is uniform straight reporting, with no editorial framing beyond what Bachchan himself said. Neither outlet adds context about the Emergency-era boycott that Indian Express's longer version notes. The only difference is that Times of India includes Rekha's 2004 declaration of love, which Indian Express also mentions. No outlet takes a stance on the rumours, they simply reproduce Bachchan's denials and Rekha's contrary statement. The story ends on Rekha's own words from 2004, leaving the reader with her unqualified admiration and Bachchan's blanket denial. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - indianexpress.com (neutral report) Straight reproduction of Bachchan's statements with no editorial slant - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Identical quotes and framing, adds Rekha's response without comment This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, Bhawana Somaaya, Rekha, Simi Garewal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/amitabh-bachchan-called-rekha-move-in-rumours-a-big-joke/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/amitabh-bachchan-called-rekha-move-in-rumours-a-big-joke/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/