Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is an Indian actress, film producer and former head of the film censor board. She was the most commercially successful heroine in Hindi cinema in the 1960s and early 1970s, with a string of musical hits that earned her the title “Hit Girl”. She was the first woman to chair the Central Board of Film Certification and received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2020.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Asha Parekh |
| Born | 2 October 1942, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Age | 84 |
| Occupation | Actress, producer, director |
| Years active | 1952–1999 |
| Parents | Bachubhai Parekh, Sudha (Salma) Parekh |
| Honours | Padma Shri (1992), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2022) |
| Known for | Dil Deke Dekho, Teesri Manzil, Kati Patang, Caravan |
Early Life
Parekh was the only child of a Gujarati Hindu father and a Bohra Muslim mother. She trained in classical dance from childhood and appeared as a child artist, billed as Baby Asha Parekh, in films such as Aasmaan (1952) and Baap Beti (1954).
Career
At sixteen she was dropped from a film by a director who said she was not star material. Days later the producer Sashadhar Mukherjee and the writer-director Nasir Hussain cast her opposite Shammi Kapoor in Dil Deke Dekho (1959), which was a big hit. She made six more films with Hussain, including Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Teesri Manzil (1966) and Caravan (1971). Other successes were Ziddi, Love in Tokyo, Do Badan, Upkar and Aan Milo Sajna.
Wanting to be taken seriously as an actress, she played a widow in Shakti Samanta’s Kati Patang (1970), opposite Rajesh Khanna, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Chirag, Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) and Gujarati films such as Akhand Saubhagyavati showed the same range.
From the 1980s she ran a dance academy, toured with dance ballets and produced and directed television serials, among them the Gujarati Jyoti and the Hindi Kora Kagaz. She was president of the Cine Artistes’ Association and chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification from 1998 to 2001, where she was criticised by filmmakers for refusing to clear some films.
Personal Life
Parekh never married. In her memoir, The Hit Girl (2017), she wrote that Nasir Hussain was the one man she had loved. A hospital in Santacruz, Mumbai, is named after her in recognition of her charitable work. Her closest friends are Waheeda Rehman and Helen.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Asha Parekh born?
Asha Parekh was born on 2 October 1942 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and is 84 years old.
What is Asha Parekh known for?
Known for: Dil Deke Dekho, Teesri Manzil, Kati Patang, Caravan.
What honours has Asha Parekh received?
Padma Shri (1992), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2022).
Featured image: Asha Parekh speaks at a press conference marking her fifty years in cinema, International Film Festival of India, Panaji, 28 November 2009. Photo by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
