- By Swati Singh
- Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:59 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The landscape of Indian cinema was rigidly defined towards Bollywood actresses. They were expected to embody virtue and traditional Indian family values. CBFC was rigid, ensuring women were heavily clothed and that any depiction of sexuality remained strictly aesthetic or suggestive. Historically, cinema split female characters into rigid archetypes. The heroine was pure, submissive, and self-sacrificing, while any woman who was independent, drank alcohol or wore Western clothing was automatically vilified as a 'vamp'.
Yet, one fearless outsider looked at these unwritten rules and chose to shatter them entirely. Reena Roy, at the peak of her career, took the role of a shape-shifting, vengeful entity who brutally murders a group of friends to avenge her lover's death. She played a cold-blooded killer, which was deemed as commercial suicide for a woman in 1970s cinema.
Naggin- A game-changer for female actresses
The 1976 movie Naggin went on to become a game-changer in the course of Indian cinema. When actress were only playing soft characters, Reena Roy took a chance and played the role of Naggin. The movie turned out to be a huge blockbuster. Not only this, her her terrifyingly intense performance and fierce screen presence won her praises from the audience and critics alike. At the time, she became the lady with a mission to achieve what no other woman had achieved so far in Bollywood.
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Reena Roy's affair with top Bollywood star led to exit from industry
Reena Roy was rumoured to be in a relationship with the then Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha. The latter had two controversial love affairs- one with Poonam Dhillon and other with Roy. His relationship with Reena was particularly famous. Despite the twists and turns of love, Shatrughan Sinha married Poonam, while Reena Roy married Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan.
Even after moving on with Poonam, Shatrughan Sinha remained very close to Reena Roy. In a past interview, he was asked why he didn't allow her the space to move on. Shatrughan responded with a question of his own: "What makes you think I didn’t give Reena the breathing space? But if Miss Reena Roy cares only for Mr. Shatrughan Sinha, why should anybody else have any objections? She and her family seek me for companionship, guidance, and advice. Just because I am married, does it mean I should ignore them and cast them aside?"
Responding to why he didn’t marry her despite being in love, Shatrughan Sinha said, "Marriage is not and has never been the solution to a problem. In fact, marriage brings about fresh problems. I meet Reena openly. We are working on many films together, including Maati Mange Khoon, Kali Basti and Dharam Shatru. Recently, I met her at a party and the media wrote about it. It was not our first public appearance together, but the press caught us. They mentioned that I didn't get my wife along for the party because of Reena. That's stupid. I did not think that it was right to take Poonam along because the media would have made a huge tamasha out of it. And the three of us would have been guinea pigs for the photographers! I am not quite sure where all this is going to lead up to. It is not the society which is preventing me from making a decision. I just need time to make up my mind about what I want to do. I'm strong but not strong enough. I'm bold but not bold enough."