Asha Parekh

Asha Parekh was born in a middle-class Gujarati household to a Hindu father, Pranlal Parekh, and a Muslim mother Sudha Parekh on October 2, 1942 in India. Since she was an only child, she became the center of her parents' lives. Her mother enrolled her in classical dance classes at an early age, and Asha excelled at dance to the point where she performed at stage shows.

He liked her and cast her again in Baap Beti (1954). The film's failure disappointed her, and even though, she did a few more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling.

Famed film director Bimal Roy saw her dance at a stage function and cast her at the tender age of ten in Maa (1957).

At sixteen, she decided to try acting again and make her debut as a heroine, but director Vijay Bhatt fired her from Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) claiming she wasn't star material.

Almost immediately, film producer Sasadhar Mukherjee and writer-director Nasir Hussain cast her as the heroine in Dil Deke Dekho (1959) which made her a huge star.

I.S. Johar offered her a role in Bewaqoof (1960), but director Vijay Bhatt told her to turn down the offer as he had cast her in Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959), but he soon fired her and she was without work until Nasir Husain cast her in Dil Deke Dekho (1959), which made her a star. Mala Sinha got the role that Asha had turned down in Bewaqoof (1960).

Had a complicated working relationship with Manoj Kumar. She thought he was rude when he ignored her at a film premiere, but she also believed that he was talented, so she got him cast in their first film together "Apna Banake Dekho" (1962), but the film didn't do well. Nevertheless, she agreed to act with him in their next film "Do Badan" (1966), which became a hit and won her rave reviews. Impressed with her acting ability, Manoj cast her in "Upkar" (1967), where he was not only the star, but also the writer and director. He was annoyed with Asha when she showed up late for a early morning shot, and he shushed her when she complained about the number of takes. She got upset and stopped talking to him but completed her work. Manoj thought she looked beautiful in the film. She didn't attend the film's premiere, even though the film's critical and box office success raised her asking price. However, she agreed to act with Manoj in their last film together "Sajan" (1969) at which time they started talking again. In 2009, she referred to him as a "very intelligent person". And in 2012, he attended her 70th birthday party and held her hands publicly, which was a big deal, since he was famous for keeping a physical distance from all women, out of respect to his wife.

She won the Gujarat State Award for Best Actress for her first Gujarati film Akhand Saubhagyavati (1963). And she easily compensated for non-actors like Joy Mukherjee and Biswajit in Hindi films, while holding her own against acting giants like Ashok Kumar. Important directors were casting her and repeating her in their films, but Asha also brought out jealousies from her female co-stars. Simi Garewal claimed that Asha tried to cut her part down in "Do Badan", but Asha insisted that she never did that, and as proof, she showed that Simi won the Filmfare Award as Best Supporting Actress for the film. The "Do Badan" team also stood by Asha, especially the director Raj Khosla who later cast her in three more films.

Although Asha earned the title "Jubilee Girl" because of the continuous string of box office successes, such as Ziddi (1964), Shikar (1968), Aan Milo Sajna (1970), she also hit a rare bump with Raj Khosla's Chirag (1969).

Asha was thrilled when she won the award, but Mumtaz, her box-office rival and former co-star from Mere Sanam (1965) and Bhai Bhai (1972), complained that she was more deserving for her own performance in Tere Mere Sapne (1971). Asha was hitting the heights of fame and glory even though she was now 30, an age where heroines normally would pack it in. But her passion for dancing sent her abroad on a extended trip to do dance shows and as a result, turned down important film roles.

Shammi Kapoor became her favorite hero and friend, and they starred in three more films, the most famous being the murder mystery Teesri Manzil (1966). The film also led to a long and fruitful association with Nasir, and he cast her as the heroine in six more films. Her fame gave her enough leverage to get producers to hire her mother Sudha Parekh to design her costumes for most of the films that she starred in.

A fallacy that surrounded her was that she was generally considered a glamorous dancer/tomboy and not a serious actress until director Raj Khosla cast her in the tragedienne role in the hit film Do Badan (1966). The truth was directors and audiences knew early on that she had genuine acting talent.

Her leading man Manoj Kumar soon directed and starred opposite her in his blockbuster Upkar (1967), which also won the Filmfare Best Picture Award.

Asha focused on her distribution concern which she had started with Nasir Hussain when he directed her in the film Baharon Ke Sapne (1967) and would continue to do so for twenty more films. She also threw herself in her charity work, even having a Santa Cruz hospital named after her. She lived with her parents in her beautiful seaside bungalow, whose innovative design drew a lot of attention. Asha's passion with dance continued and her performance of famous dance ballets like "Chauladevi" won her acclaim.

Shatrughan Sinha made his debut in a small role in Sajan (1969), which starred Asha. He stopped talking to her because of a misunderstanding. He continued to ignore her in their next film together Heera (1973). Many years later, he felt that his behavior was immature and recommended her to an important post. She called to thank him and they started talking again. He said that she was "very gracious about it". In 2017, he came to support the launch of her memoir "The Hit Girl".

However, Asha did win the much coveted Best Actress Filmfare Award for Shakti Samanta's Kati Patang (1970). She played a deglamourised woman in a white sari pretending to be a widow whose vulnerable smile hides a painful past.

But she also earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for the film, and Khosla didn't blame her for the film's failure and in fact, cast her soon again and came up with a huge hit, Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971). However, success brought controversy. Once again, a female co-star claimed that Asha cut her role down in the film. This time, Asha confronted Laxmi Chhaya directly and told her to think before she spoke as Padma got twice the number of songs than Asha did in "Mera Gaon Mera Desh".

Aruna Irani allegedly said that Asha reduced her role in Nasir Hussain's box-office smash Caravan (1971), but facts back up Asha that she would never cut another performer's role, as Aruna had more songs than Asha, and she received a Filmfare nomination, while Asha wasn't nominated for the film at all.

When she came back in 1973, she found that a younger and bolder breed of heroines like Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman got those roles and now ruled the roost.

She did supporting roles in films, garnering Filmfare nominations as Best Supporting Actress for Udhar Ka Sindur (1976) and Raj Khosla's massive hit, Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), which also won the Filmfare Award as Best Film.

Although, Shammi Kapoor was her favorite leading man, and she also liked working with his younger brother Shashi Kapoor, her dream was to work with the eldest Kapoor brother Raj Kapoor. But it was a half-realized dream because the film that she made with him, "Chor Mandali" (1982) never got released.

Her boyfriend Nasir Hussain gave her a cameo in their eighth film together, Manzil Manzil (1984) as the hero's mother. In her 2017 memoir "The Hit Girl", she wrote that she "felt out of place in marginalised mummy ji characters" and that she had accepted these types of roles against her better judgment. She never worked for Hussain after this film.

Is a fan of actor Dilip Kumar and was disappointed when they didn't get to act together in a film, although they came close with the film Fantastic (1985) for her frequent director Nasir Husain. She was upset when the internet published false reports that claimed that the reason she didn't work with him was because she didn't like him. Dilip and his wife Saira Banu told Asha that they never believed the false story and attended her 70th birthday celebration in 2012. The couple remain close to Asha. They invited her to Dilip's 93rd birthday celebration in 2015, an intimate event meant only for family and close friends. Asha was happy to attend it.

But the rest of her supporting roles as mother and bhabhi (sister-in-law) disenchanted her, with the exception of her strong performances in Hathyar (1989) and the Gujarati film Kulvadhu (1977). And her back problems forced her to give up doing dance shows.

Began a highly successful career as a television director in the early 1990s with a Gujarati serial "Jyoti." Her production company, "Akruti", has come out with television serials "Palash ke Phool", "Baaje Payal", "Kora Kagaz" and a comedy "Dal Mein Kaala."

She was the president of the Cine Artistes' Association from 1994-2000, and later said that it was time consuming, difficult, and ultimately a "thankless job."

But she found a new passion, directing television serials such as the hugely popular Kora Kogaz in the early 90's, which convinced her to give up acting permanently in 1995. She formed her production company "Akruti," through which she produced and directed television serials.

From 1998 to 2001, Asha was the first woman in history to be appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification ("film censor board") for which she received no salary but plenty of controversy, because she requested that many films be censored.

His wife Ayesha Khan died in 2001, but Asha didn't try to marry the widowed Husain, since "he had become a shadow of his former self.

However, her acting accomplishments were not forgotten as she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. After her mother's death, she sold her huge bungalow and moved into a smaller place to take care of her ailing father until he, too, passed away. She has never married and has not had any affairs with her many heroes, claiming that her reputation of being unapproachable probably intimidated men.

She received the 7th International Indian Film Academy Award for outstanding achievement in Indian cinema on June 16, 2006 in Dubai. She was chosen unanimously by the advisory board for her status as an industry icon, and for her career as actress, producer, director, and also having been the first female chairperson of the Indian film censor board.

She received two Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2007: One from the Fifth Annual Pune International Film Festival in India, and the other from the Ninth Annual Bollywood Awards in New York, USA.

Celebrated her 70th birthday by throwing a big bash, attended by some of the biggest stars in Hindi films. [October 2012]

Asha has formed a group with five other actress friends to ease loneliness, so she,Sadhana, Nanda, Waheeda Rehman, Shammi, and Helen meet regularly at each other's homes to chat, have lunch, or watch a movie. Asha has urged other retired performers to do the same before it's too late as nothing is more therapeutic in life than companionship. In 2013, she, Waheeda, and Helen went on a 10-day Scandinavian cruise, but Nanda, Sadhana, and Shammi couldn't join them because of poor health. She attended Nanda's funeral in 2014, Sadhana's funeral in 2015, and Shammi's funeral in 2018.

In her 2017 memoir "The Hit Girl" (co-written by Khalid Mohamed) she confirmed that her longtime director Nasir Hussain was the "only one and true love of my life. " Since he was already married with two children, she couldn't marry him without wrecking havoc on both their families. Their romantic relationship eventually ended after several decades.