Asha Parekh

Asha Parekh (October 2, 1942) was one of the top female stars in Hindi films from 1959 to 1973 and is said to have performed in more hit films than any other heroine[1].

Asha Parekh was born into a middle-class Gujarati household on October 2, 1942 in Bangalore, Karnataka to a Hindu father and Muslim mother. Since she was an only child, she became the centre of her parents' lives. Her mother enrolled her in Indian classical dance classes at an early age and Asha excelled at dancing to the point where she performed at stage shows and private functions. She started her career as a child artiste under the screen name Baby Asha Parekh in the film Aasmaan (1952). Famed film director Bimal Roy saw her dance at a stage function and cast her at the tender age of twelve in Baap Beti (1954). The film's failure disappointed her and even though she did a couple more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling[2]. At sixteen she decided to try acting again and make her debut as a heroine, but she was rejected from Vijay Bhatt's Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959), because the filmmaker claimed she wasn't "star material". Almost immediately, 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. The film also led to a long and fruitful association with Hussain. He went on to cast her as the heroine in six more of his 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 role for his film Manzil Manzil (1984). He also got her involved in distribution of films for 21 years, starting with Baharon ke Sapne (1967). She was primarily known as a glamour girl/excellent 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 favorite films: Do Badan (1966), Chirag (1969), and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978). Director Shakti Samanta gave her more dramatic roles in her other favorite films, Pagla Kahin Ka (1970), and Kati Patang (1970), the latter earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Many important directors repeated her several times in their films, such as Vijay Anand, Mohan Segal and J.P. Dutta.

Asha acted in her mother tongue language of Gujarati by starring in three Gujarati films at the height of her fame in Hindi films, the first film being Akhand Saubhagyavati (1963), which became a huge hit[3].
She became a television director in the early 1990s with a 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. She retired from Bollywood in 1995 to pursue her television career, but her acting accomplishments were not forgotten as she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. Later, she became the treasurer of the Cine Artists' Welfare Association Trust (CINTA).

Asha 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.

Asha has remained unmarried, claiming that her reputation of being unapproachable made people hesitate in asking for her hand in marriage. There were rumors that she was romantically involved with the already married Nasir Hussain[4]. In her later years, Asha said that she had a longtime boyfriend before the relationship ended[5].

Today, she concentrates on her dance academy Kara Bhavan, which has produced many skilled dancers. The Asha Parekh Hospital in Santa Cruz, Mumbai is named after her because of her many contributions. Her considerable wealth provides for many of her social and charitable causes.