Rukhsar Rehman, who began her acting career at the age of 17, was once considered a rising star. She stepped away from the industry due to family pressure. Rehman returned in 2005 with a new resolve, starting from scratch with auditions, rejections, and small roles.

“Acting has and will always be my passion,” she says. “I feel I have done well. But as an actor, we always feel, jitna mile utna kam hai. We are always hungry for more. Everybody knows me in the industry now, irrespective of how small the roles have been. It is a satisfying feeling when people reach out to me with projects.”

Over the years, Rehman built a solid body of work with films such as Sarkar (2005), God Tussi Great Ho (2008), Shaitan (2011), PK (2014), Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), 83 (2021), and numerous television shows.

Now, she has two films lined up — Lahore 1947, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and starring Sunny Deol, and Uttar Da Puttar alongside Annu Kapoor. While she remains tight-lipped about the former, Rehman reveals that working with Santoshi was a fulfilling experience.

“He is a sharp filmmaker, and very clear about his vision and how a scene needs to look. Many directors [keep their options open], which is not a bad thing to do, but sir is confident about how his characters would feel and react.”

Set during the Partition of India, Lahore 1947 follows the journey of Sikander Mirzaon, played by Deol. Rehman, who has wrapped the period drama, shares, “Rajkumar sir’s Andaz Apna Apna [1994] is one of my favourites. He is full of stories and anecdotes. During the shoot, I’d often ask him to narrate shoot stories from his earlier movies. During lunch, on set, he would always insist that we all sit together. I am happy to work with him.”

Rukhsar Rehman made her film debut in 1992 with a lead role in Deepak Anand’s Yaad Rakhegi Duniya opposite Aditya Pancholi. She also appeared in J K Bihari’s Inteha Pyar Ki (1992) opposite late Rishi Kapoor. In one of her interviews, Rehman confessed that she was offered Saugandh (1991), Roja (1992), Baazigar (1993), and 1942: A Love Story (1994), but was unable to take up the offers.

Actress Rukhsar Rehman and film director Faruk Kabir are headed for a divorce. The estranged couple has been living separately since February this year. A source close to the actress said, “There were a few things that were non-negotiable for Rukhsar and when she learned about them, she decided to end the marriage. She is not doing very well.”

Rukhsar confirmed the news and said, “Yes, we have parted ways. We have been living separately since February and are headed for a divorce. We are currently in the process and the lawyers are involved. So, I cannot talk at length.”

The actress who was seen in PK and 83, among other films, admits that the decision to split was emotionally taxing. “It wasn’t an easy decision for me at all. I don’t want to get into the details and reasons behind it as I don’t want to make it dirty,” she said.

Faruk, who directed the Khuda Haafiz franchise, said, “I’m a very private person and this is a personal matter, so I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

The two got married in March 2010 in a low-key ceremony after being in a relationship for almost six years. Last year, they worked together for the first time in his directorial Khuda Haafiz 2.

Rukhsar was previously married to Asad Ahmed and they are parents to actress Aisha Ahmed.

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Actor Rukhsar Rehman and director-producer Faruk Kabir’s marriage has hit rock bottom, we have exclusively learnt.

A source tells us, “The two have been dealing with a lot of problems for the past few months and could not resolve the differences amicably despite several discussions. Hence, they have now involved families and are headed for divorce.”

However, the exact reason is yet unclear. “There are several speculations around it, but it won’t be right to comment [now] as nothing is clear yet,” says the source.

Rehman was earlier married to Asad Ahmed and they have a daughter, Aisha Ahmed, who is also an actor. After parting ways with Asad, Rehman married Kabir in 2010.

The source informs that Rehman is looking out for more work: “Her daughter is busy with her career. Hence, she wants to focus on hers.”

Rehman made her Bollywood debut with Yaad Rakhegi Duniya (1992) alongside actor Aditya Pancholi. She has been part of films such as God Tussi Great Ho (2008), PK (2014) and the web show The Night Manager. Kabir, on the other hand, has directed films such as Allah Ke Banday (2010) and Khuda Haafiz (2020).

We tried contacting Rehman and Kabir, but were not met with a response till the time of going to press.