Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is an Indian actress, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest actresses, Parekh has worked in more than 85 films, in a career spanning over four decades.[1][2] Parekh has received several accolades including two Filmfare Awards. In 1992, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution to the field of cinema and was honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2020.[3]
Asha Parekh is a Gujarati[5] born on 2 October 1942.[6] Her mother, Sudha aka Salma Parekh, was a Bohri Muslim and her father, Bachubhai Parekh, was Hindu Gujarati.[7][8][9][10][11] Her mother enrolled her in Indian classical dance classes at an early age and she learned from many teachers, including Pandit Bansilal Bharati.
Career
Parekh started her career as a child artist under the screen name Baby Asha Parekh. Famous film director Bimal Roy saw her dance at a stage function and cast her at the age of ten in Maa (1952) and then repeated her in Baap Beti (1954).[12] The latter film's failure disappointed her, and even though she did a few more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling.[13] When she was 16, she decided to try acting again, and to make her debut as a heroine, but she was rejected from Vijay Bhatt's Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) in favour of actress Ameeta, because the filmmaker claimed she was not star material. Precisely 8 days later, film producer Subodh Mukherjee and writer-director Nasir Hussain cast her as the heroine in Dil Deke Dekho (1959), opposite Shammi Kapoor, which made her a huge star.[14]
It also started a long association with Hussain who cast her as his heroine in six more films: Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil (1966), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), and Caravan (1971). She also did a cameo in his 1984 film Manzil Manzil. Hussain also got her involved in distribution of 21 films, starting with Baharon Ke Sapne (1967).[15] Parekh was primarily known as a glamour girl/dancer/tomboy in most of her films, until director Raj Khosla gave her a serious image by casting her in tragedienne roles in three of her favourite films; Do Badan (1966), Chirag (1969), which earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), which earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Director Shakti Samanta gave her more dramatic roles in her other favourite films, Pagla Kahin Ka (1970) and Kati Patang (1970); the lattermost earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She also featured in a supporting role in Udhar Ka Sindur (1976) which earned her a second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Many important directors repeatedly cast her in several of their films, including Vijay Anand and Mohan Segal. Parekh acted in her mother tongue by starring in three Gujarati films at the height of her fame in Hindi films, the first being Akhand Saubhagyavati (1963), which became a huge hit.[16] She also acted in some Punjabi films, such as Kankan De Ohle (1971) opposite Dharmendra and Lambhardarni (1976) with Dara Singh, as well as the hit Kannada film Sharavegada Saradara (1989).[17] As a leading heroine, she formed popular onscreen pairings with actors including Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna.
After her days as a leading lady ended, Parekh took on supporting roles as bhabhi (sister-in-law) and mother. A notable film she did in which she played such a part is Kaalia (1981), which is the only film in which she shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan. But she called these roles the "awkward phase" of her career. So she stopped acting in films, and her friends recommended that she become a television director. She took their advice and became a television director in the early 1990s with the Gujarati serial Jyoti. She formed a production company, Akruti, and produced serials like Palash ke Phool, Baaje Payal, Kora Kagaz and a comedy, Dal Mein Kaala. She was the president of the Cine Artistes' Association from 1994 to 2000. Parekh was the first female chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) of India. She held the post from 1998 to 2001 for which she received no salary, but plenty of controversy for censoring films and for not giving clearance to Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth. Later, she became the treasurer of the Cine and Television Artists Association (CINTAA) and was later elected as one of its office-bearers.[citation needed]
In 2008, she was a judge on the reality show Tyohaar Dhamaaka on the Indian entertainment channel 9X.[18] In 2017, her autobiography (co-written by Khalid Mohamed) titled The Hit Girl was released.[19]
Parekh has remained unmarried, claiming that her reputation of being unapproachable made people hesitate in asking for her hand in marriage. In her memoir The Hit Girl, she confirmed rumours[20] that she was romantically involved with director Nasir Hussain who was already married, but out of respect for both their families, she couldn't marry him.[21] Previously, Parekh would only state that she had a longtime boyfriend but declined to elaborate on the relationship, only stating that "it was nice while it lasted."[22] She said she had not seen Nasir Hussain during the last year of his life, as he became reclusive because of his wife's death,[23] but she did speak to him the day before he died in 2002.[24] She almost married an Indian professor living in America, but he didn't want to give up his girlfriend, so she called off their wedding plans. She had also tried to adopt a child, but he had birth defects, and the doctors refused to let her adopt him.[25]
Today, Parekh concentrates on her dance academy Kara Bhavan. She has a hospital in her name in Santacruz, Mumbai, called "BCJ Hospital and Asha Parekh Research Centre", as she had donated for the medical and surgical wing.[9][26][27] She has stated that the hospital had been closed and reopened various times.[28]
Artistry and legacy
Parekh at an event in 2019
Parekh is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema.[29] In 2022, she was placed in Outlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actresses" list.[30] One of the highest paid actress of late 1960s to early 1970s, Parekh appeared in Box Office India's "Top Actresses" list seven times, from 1966 to 1972 and topped the list twice (1967-1968).[31] In 2022, at 53rd International Film Festival of India, a retrospective was organised in her honour, where three of her films were screened.[32] In her honour, Parekh's hand-print was unveiled at Walk of the Stars at Bandra Bandstand.[33]
Farhana Farook of Filmfare said that "she's undeniably distinct from her peers" and noted, "Asha Parekh has gone way beyond the paradigm of stardom and its engulfing halo. She's a woman of many shades and much substance."[34] Gautam Chintamani of Firstpost termed Parekh as "one of the biggest film stars to grace the silver screen".[35]Outlook India noted, "Parekh was famed for her electrifying dance moves and the films that resulted from them."[36]The Statesman noted, "Parekh earned the epithet of Bollywood's "jubilee girl" with her string of hits in the Hindi film industry's golden era."[37] Arushi Jain of The Indian Express noted, "Parekh was associated with adjectives like effervescent, fashionista, cheerful, dancer and glamour girl. She struggled a lot to graduate from a conventional Bollywood heroine to one of the most sought after leading ladies of the 1960s with unconventional roles."[38]
In 2016, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said that Parekh had approached him at his Mumbai residence, climbing 12 floors of steps, to recommend her name for the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award. The claim was widely reported, however Parekh said she never lobbied for the award, and refused to say more on the matter. In her memoir The Hit Girl published a year later, Parekh said that meeting the minister was the "worst mistake" of her life. She said she had been hurt by the minister's claim, and recounted a different version of the event. Parekh had been awarded the Padma Shri in 1992. A close friend had arranged a meeting with the minister and suggested her to seek an upgrade of the award.[45][46]
A chronological listing of awards and nominations is as follows:
Won – Gujarat State Award for Best Actress for Akhand Saubhagyavati (1963)[47]
