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Veteran actors Rekha and Pankaj Tripathi joined the Indian community in Melbourne to celebrate Independence Day, with the two actors taking part in the flag-hoisting ceremony and singing the national anthem with the crowd.
The veteran actress hoisted the Indian national flag in Melbourne on August 15 as part of the Independence Day celebrations organised during the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Members of the Indian diaspora, Australian dignitaries, filmmakers, artists and cinema lovers were present at the event.
The celebration turned special as Rekha and Pankaj joined those gathered in singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’ after the Tricolour was hoisted. The two actors were seen singing the national anthem along with the crowd as they celebrated Independence Day away from India.
The event also saw a light-hearted moment between Rekha and Pankaj, as the veteran actor turned into an English teacher for the actor. In a video shared by the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne on Instagram, Rekha asked Pankaj to repeat her words in English.
She first told him, “Abhi main jo bolungi na Pankaj ji woh aap Angrezi main boliye (Now, whatever I say, you will say it in English).”
Rekha then asked Pankaj to repeat the line, “To all the lovely people of Melbourne.” When Pankaj said it in Hindi, she corrected him and asked him to say it in English.
“No, in English. Come here and say, To all the beautiful people of Melbourne,” Rekha told him.
Pankaj then joked about his difficulty with English and said, “Ma’am, main Hindi medium ka chatra hun galat bol dunga (Ma’am, I am a Hindi medium student. I will say it wrong).”
The two eventually delivered the message together, saying, “To all the lovely people of Melbourne. There is no business Like so business. So, welcome to our world and thank you so much for welcoming us to your world. Thank you so much. See you soon. Love you. Jai Hind.”
Rekha was in Melbourne for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where her 1981 film ‘Umrao Jaan’ was screened. Directed by Muzaffar Ali, the film featured Rekha in the lead role and was based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s Urdu novel ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’.
‘Umrao Jaan’ won four awards at the 29th National Film Awards, including Best Actress for Rekha.
The veteran actor was also honoured with the Excellence in Cinema award at the 17th edition of IFFM 2026. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is scheduled to conclude on August 23. (ANI)
