Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful actresses of the 1960s and 1970s. She is considered one of the most influential actresses of all time in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

cinema. In 1992, she was honoured with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

for her contribution to the field of cinema and also honoured with the

Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...

for 2020.

Early life

Asha Parekh is a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

born on 2 October 1942. Her mother, Sudha aka Salma Parekh, was a

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. Their largest numbers reside in India, Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa, and the Middle East, with a growing presence across Europe, North America, South ...

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

Gujarati Muslim The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify an Indian Muslims, Muslim from the state of Gujarat in western coast of India. Most Gujarati Muslims have Gujarati language as their mother tongue, but some communities such as the Momin Ansari ...

and her father, Bachubhai Parekh, was

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Gujarati. 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. Famed film director

Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as '' Do Bigha Zamin'', '' Parineeta'', '' Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas'', ''Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' ...

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 ''Baap Beti'' is a 1954 Bollywood film, produced by Gopi Rohra and starring Nalini Jaiwant. It stars Asha Parekh as a child artist. Reception The film achieved a 7.7 rating on IMDb. Songs #"Duniya Bananewale Ramoji" - Lata Mangeshkar Lat ...

'' (1954). The latter film's failure disappointed her, and even though she did a few more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling. At sixteen she decided to try acting again, and to make her debut as a heroine, but she was rejected from

Vijay Bhatt Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as '' Ram Rajya'' (1943), ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and '' Himal ...

's ''

Goonj Uthi Shehnai ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' () is a 1959 Hindi film directed by Vijay Bhatt, with Rajendra Kumar, Ameeta, Anita Guha and I. S. Johar as leads. The film has music by Vasant Desai and lyrics by Bharat Vyas, and the duo created numerous hits such as "Jiv ...

'' (1959) in favour of actress

Ameeta Ameeta (born as Qamar Sultana) is an Indian actress. She appeared in Bollywood films such as '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha'', ''Mere Mehboob'' and '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai''. Career Beginning A fan of Madhubala, Ameeta was enacting her idol's sword fight ...

, because the filmmaker claimed she was not star material. Precisely eight days later, film producer Subodh Mukherjee and writer-director

Nasir Hussain Mohammad Nasir Hussain Khan (16 November 1926 — 13 March 2002), better known as Nasir Hussain, was an Indian film producer, director, and screenwriter. With a career spanning decades, Hussain has been credited as a major trendsetter in the ...

cast her as the heroine in ''

Dil Deke Dekho ''Dil Deke Dekho'' is a 1959 Indian Hindi romantic comedy film. It was Nasir Hussain's second film as a director after '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (1957), which became a big hit and gave star Shammi Kapoor a new image as a comedic, dancing hero. Huss ...

'' (1959), opposite

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor for ...

, which made her a huge star. It also started a long association with Hussain who cast her as his heroine in six more films: ''

Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai ''Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai '' () is a 1961 Hindi-language musical comedy film that became a box office hit. It was written, produced, and directed by Nasir Hussain. The first film Hussain ever produced, it featured Dev Anand and Hussain fixt ...

'' (1961), ''

Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon ''Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon '' ( I've come back with the same heart) is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language film. The film became superhit at the box office. This was Nasir Hussain's second production (his first in colour), after the hit film '' Jab Py ...

'' (1963), '' Teesri Manzil'' (1966), ''

Baharon Ke Sapne ''Baharon Ke Sapne'' (Dreams of Spring) is a 1967 Hindi film made under Nasir Hussain films' banner. It starred Rajesh Khanna and the Nasir Hussain fixture - Asha Parekh. It also had Premnath, Madan Puri and another Nasir Hussain fixture Rajend ...

'' (1967), ''

Pyar Ka Mausam ''Pyar Ka Mausam'' () is a 1969 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film under Nasir Hussain films banner. Hussain wrote, produced, and directed the film. It starred Shashi Kapoor, and the Nasir Husain fixture- Asha Parekh. It also had Bharat ...

'' (1969), and '' Caravan'' (1971). She also did a cameo in Nasir Hussain's film ''

Manzil Manzil Manzil Manzil is a 1984 Indian romantic drama film, directed by Nasir Hussain, with his nephew Aamir Khan as his assistant director. The film stars Sunny Deol and Dimple Kapadia along with Danny Denzongpa, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Prem Chopra an ...

'' (1984) with whom she had earlier done 6 films. Hussain also got her involved in distribution of 21 films, starting with ''

'' (1967). Parekh was primarily known as a glamour girl/excellent dancer/tomboy in most of her films, until director

Raj Khosla Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's direc ...

gave her a serious image by casting her in tragedienne roles in three of her favourite films; '' Do Badan'' (1966), ''

Chirag ''Chirag'' (Hindi: चिराग; English: Light) is a 1969 Indian Bollywood film directed by Raj Khosla. The film stars Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh in lead roles. Apart from other plus points, it has the famous song "Teri Aankhon Ke Siwa" sun ...

'' (1969) and ''

Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki ''Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'' is a 1978 Indian drama film directed by Raj Khosla and Sudesh Issar. It is based on a Marathi novel titled ''Ashi Tujhi Preet'' by Chandrakant Kakodkar. The film won Nutan her 5th and final Filmfare Award in the ...

'' (1978). Director

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

gave her more dramatic roles in her other favourite films, ''

Pagla Kahin Ka ''Pagla Kahin Ka'' (''Such a Fool'') is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Helen and Prem Chopra, all of whom had earlier starred in the huge hit Teesri Manzil (1966). The fi ...

'' (1970) and ''

Kati Patang ''Kati Patang'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It was a box office success. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations ...

'' (1970); the latter earned her the

Filmfare Award for Best Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954 ...

. 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

films at the height of her fame in

films, the first being ''Akhand Saubhagyavati'' (1963), which became a huge hit. 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 Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

film ''

Sharavegada Saradara ''Sharavegada Saradara'' () is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language action film starring Kumar Bangarappa, Ashwini Bhave and Poonam Javeri. The film has musical score by Sangeetha Raja. The film is based on a novel by ''Sudarshan Desai''. Director ''K ...

'' (1989). As a leading heroine, she formed popular onscreen pairings with actors including

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

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 ''Kaalia'' is a 1981 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film, written and directed by Tinnu Anand, and produced by Iqbal Singh. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan (in the title role), Parveen Babi, Asha Parekh, Kader Khan, Pran, Amjad Khan, ...

'' (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 The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

(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 Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker and actor. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award a ...

's ''

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

''. Later, she became the treasurer of the Cine and Television Artists Association (CINTAA) and was later elected as one of its office-bearers. Asha stopped acting in 1995 to pursue directing and producing television serials. Parekh received the

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, initially named Raj Kapoor Award for Lifetime Achievement after Raj Kapoor is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. List of honourees † - Indicates t ...

in 2002. She has continued to receive other Lifetime Achievement Awards: the Kalakar Award in 2004; the

International Indian Film Academy Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards, popularly known as IIFA, is an annual awards ceremony for Bollywood. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for th ...

in 2006; the Pune International Film Festival Award in 2007; and the Ninth Annual Bollywood Award in Long Island, New York in 2007. She received the Living Legend Award from the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla and ...

(

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla an ...

). In 2008, she was a judge on the reality show ''Tyohaar Dhamaaka'' on the Indian entertainment channel 9X. In 2017, her autobiography (co-written by

Khalid Mohamed Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editing, editor, Film criticism, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the ''Hindustan Times'' and was the lead editor for ''Filmfare'' magazine. He is the son of Bollywoo ...

) titled "The Hit Girl" was released.

Personal life

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 that she was romantically involved with director

who was already married, but out of respect for both their families, she couldn't marry him. 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." 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, but she did speak to him the day before he died in 2002. 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. Today, Parekh concentrates on her dance academy Kara Bhavan and the Asha Parekh Hospital in

Santacruz, Mumbai Santacruz or Santa Cruz (Pronunciation: aːn̪t̪akɾuːz is a neighbourhood of Mumbai. The Santacruz railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, the domestic terminal (T1) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, and one ...

, named in her honour because of her many humanitarian contributions.

Filmography

Philanthropy

Parekh has opened a hospital for those in need, called "Bcj Hospital And Asha Parekh Research Centre." She has stated that the hospital had been closed and reopened various times.

Awards and nominations

# Gujarat State Award for Best Actress for ''Akhand Saubhagyavati'' (1963) #

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

Nomination as Best Actress for ''

'' (1969) #

for ''

'' (1971) #

Nomination as Best Supporting Actress for ''

Udhar Ka Sindur ''Udhar Ka Sindur'' () is a 1976 Indian Hindi-language drama film, produced by L. V. Prasad under the Prasad Productions Pvt. Ltd. banner, directed by Chander Vohra. The film stars Jeetendra, Reena Roy and Asha Parekh, with music composed by R ...

'' (1976) #

Nomination as Best Supporting Actress for ''

'' (1978) #

awarded in the Arts (1992) #

(2002) # Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) felicitated Parekh for her outstanding contribution to the Indian film industry (2003) # Kalakar Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) #

for outstanding achievement in Indian cinema (2006) # Saptarang Ke Saptashee Award (2006) # Gujarati Association of North America (GANA)'s First International Gujarati Convention—Lifetime Achievement Award (2006) # Pune International Film Festival—Lifetime Achievement Award (2007) # Bollywood Award—Lifetime Achievement Award (2007) # Living Legend Award from the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla an ...

(

). #

Film Federation of India The Film Federation of India (FFI) is an apex body of the Indian film producers (around 18,000), distributors (around 20,000), exhibitors (around 12,000) and studio owners, headquartered in Mumbai.Shahid Alikhan, R. A. Mashelkar, "Intellectual pro ...

honoured Parekh at its Golden Jubilee celebration ceremony (2008) # Sahyadri Navratna Award given to Parekh for being a "woman of substance" (2008) # Solitaire for Life Award from the ABN Amro Solitaire Design Awards show (2008) # Nashik International Film Festival—Lifetime Achievement Award (2009) # 'Lachchu Mahraj Puraskar' Award for Parekh's contribution to dance and acting (2009) # 40th International Film Festival of India felicitated Parekh for completing 50 years in Hindi cinema (2009) # 'Legends Live Forever Award' from the Immortal Memories Event (2009) # Golden Laurel Award—Ninth Gr8 Women Achievers Awards (2010) # Prakarti Ratan Award (2010) # Jaipur International Film Festival—Lifetime Achievement Award (2011) # Bhishma Award by the Ashram Arts Academy (2012) # Kalakar Awards – Living Legend Award (2018) # "Walk of the Stars" honour, where a tile bears her handprint (2013) # Stardust-Lifetime Achievement Award (2015) # Most Stylish Lifetime Style Icon Award—Hindustan Times Most Stylish Awards (2017) # Second Best Book Award for her memoir "The Hit Girl" at the 5th annual Pune International Literary Festival (PILF) (2017) # Bimal Roy Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) # Global Cinema Festival-Lifetime Achievement Award (2020) # Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Film Industry" (2022) # Master Deenanath Puraskar Award for "dedicated services in the field of cinema" (2022) #

presented for the year 2020 by

(2022)

References

External links

*
Asha Parekh
- a profile by

Dinesh Raheja Dinesh Raheja (born 31 March 1957) is an Indian author, columnist, TV scriptwriter, film historian. Raheja has been writing on cinema for over 40 years. In his long and prolific career as a writer, he has worked as the Editor of ''Movie magazine' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parekh, Asha 1942 births Living people Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai Indian film actresses Indian women film producers Indian women film directors 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian actresses Film producers from Mumbai Film directors from Mumbai Gujarati people Dawoodi Bohras Businesswomen from Maharashtra