Asha Parekh: Bollywood’s ‘jubilee’ girl whose name was enough to sell films; was Dharmendra, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor’s ‘lucky mascot’ (2024)

Asha Parekh was born on October 2, 1942. (Express archive photo)

Parekh, after being credited as Baby Asha Parekh in a few more films, was cast as the lead in Vijay Bhatt’s Goonj Uthi Shehnai, opposite Rajendra Kumar. But she got sacked from the job in a couple of days as the director felt she is not “star material”. Determined to be a doctor, Parekh dropped the idea of being on the silver screen, only until filmmaker Sashadhar Mukherjee suggested she take acting classes at his studio, which she joined reluctantly. She felt, “acting is an art which cannot be taught”. Eventually, she impressed Nasir Husain with her screen test. “They already had Shammi Kapoor’s dates. The choice had to be between me and Sadhana. As Sadhana didn’t turn up, I got into Dil Deke Dekho,” Parekh shared with The Hindu. She was elated to not only earn Rs 11,000 for her big debut, but also work with a talent like Shammi Kapoor who taught her how to lip sync and other camera techniques.

Dil Deke Dekho was just the beginning of her journey to becoming the ‘Sweetheart of the Swinging 60s’. But she had to plead with Sashadhar Mukherjee to stay Asha Parekh and not become Asha Pari, a name suggested for her by Dilip Kumar. “He (Mukherjee) said he would think about it and went with the name I was born with. Or else I would be known as Asha Pari today. Imagine a fairy and me?” the actor wrote in her autobiography, The Hit Girl, co-written by film critic Khalid Mohamed.

Soon after Dil Deke Dekho, Parekh romanced Sunil Dutt in Hum Hindustan (1960) which did average business at the box office and in the same year, she delivered a hit with Ramanand Sagar’s Ghunghat, a film too heavy with emotions for an 18-year-old to fathom. Hence, she would giggle at moments when Sagar would be in tears during the shots. During the shoot of one such scene, Sagar lost his cool and yelled at Parekh for her immaturity.

“Even after 30 retakes, I could not stop giggling. That was the first and last yelling I got before the camera. ‘What’s the matter with you, silly girl?’ Sagar saab exploded, ‘If I can cry, why can’t you? Do you understand the dialogue?’ I did, but what could I say? Obviously, I did not have the depth of his feelings. On being berated I had to control myself. I buried my face in the palms of my hand, thought of as many sad things as I possibly could, straightened up and delivered the dialogue to his satisfaction,” Asha shared in her book.

Film star Minu Mumtaz and Asha Parekh at the premiere of Ghunghat. (Express archive photo)

But it was never easy for the lively, cheerful Parekh to be broody in life, both on and off-screen. Hence, she balanced with some lighthearted entertainers (Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai, Aan Milo Sajna, Love in Tokyo) that can cheer you up on a dull day. And, on days when her role demanded her to be broody, but she couldn’t control her giggles, she would retire to her makeup room, laugh her heart out and then return with a poker face.

Some of this carefree, tomboyish attitude came from being the only child of Bachubhai Parekh and Sudha (Salma Parekh). As a kid, she didn’t play with dolls but had a gang of boys with whom she would indulge in street games. “I was a restless tomboy. Dad would fondly laugh at my antics. I was papa’s darling. If I wanted chocolate bars or mango, he would fetch them from bazaar (market) in less than five minutes,” Parekhh shared, while adding that her mother was the exact opposite and she was scared of her. But she also credited her mother for keeping her grounded and disciplined.

In an interview with Pinkvilla, Parekh said, “She was the power behind me. Whatever I achieved is because of her. At home, I was never treated like a star. If I happened to do something wrong, she’d put me down. She was strict. I had to behave like a normal person at home. It kept me totally rooted.” Even the money matter of the actor was handled by her mother.

After a couple of years and four consecutive superhits, Parekh’s fees rose from Rs 11,000 to Rs 75,000 in the early 60s. She got the moniker of the ‘Hit Girl’. She became a regular in Hussain’s films, the most prominent ones being Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963) and Teesri Manzil (1966). Between 1964 and 1967, Parekh worked with almost every top filmmaker and actor in the industry and delivered hits in Ziddi (1964), Mere Sanam (1965), Love In Tokyo (1966), Aaye Din Bahaar Ke (1966) and Upkar (1967).

“There was a time when the directors would sign me first and then go to the hero. There was a time when on my name a film used to be sold,” the actor recalled during an interaction with The Hindu. Her name being on a movie poster meant the audience was in for some delightful song and dance sequences. How can one not fall in love with those sparkling eyes as they sang ‘Jaaiye aap kahan jayenge’ in Mere Sanam or with the bright smile in ‘Jiyaa O Jiyaa O Jiyaa Kuch Bol Do’ (Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai) or the lovely dance moves in ‘Sayonara sayonara’ (Love In Tokyo). She became a ‘lucky mascot’ for all the heroes and filmmakers, and thus the highest-paid actor of her time. Her training in Indian classical dance forms gave her an edge over her contemporaries. Parekh also believed, “I danced therefore I was. Without dance, I would not have been an actress.”

While she was enjoying being the ‘Hit Girl’, filmmakers were overlooking the actor in her. It was Raj Khosla-directed Do Badan (1966) that changed that for her as she got recognised for her fine performance as a tragedienne. “People used to call me a ‘glamour girl’ but when Do Badan was released, critics wrote good things about me and then I realised I am a good actor too,” she told BBC. Khosla only gave two more meaningful roles to Parekh in his films, Chirag (1969) and Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki (1978).

The film that got Asha Parekh her first Filmfare award, was the 1970 film Kati Patang, featuring Rajesh Khanna. Interestingly, the film’s director, Shakti Samanta was not keen on casting her since she had declined his offer for Aradhana. Had Shakti’s son Aseem not been her fan, Kati Patang would have never come to Parekh. It was after Kati Patang that Shakti signed Parekh once again for Pagla Kahin Ka, also starring Shammi Kapoor, and apologised to her for assuming that she would “bring the baggage of her stardom” to the film’s set.

Film actors Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh in film KATI PATANG. *** Local Caption *** Film actors Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh in film KATI PATANG. Express archive photo

The doe-eyed danseuse Parekh’s mastery of her craft can also be credited to the people she drew inspiration from, including great talents like Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner and Audrey Hepburn. She also followed the advice of Geeta Bali (Shammi Kapoor’s wife), whom she called Chachi and who wanted to adopt her. Bali had told her, “Asha be yourself, be as natural and spontaneous as you are in real life.”

Besides being a true entertainer, Asha Parekh was a total fashion influencer of her time. She made popular tight slacks, tops, churidars and kurtas, and designer sarees with sleeveless blouses popular among the masses. As senior journalist Rajdeep Sirdesai rightfully noted about her, “She was a trendsetter. Also, that eyeliner, that became the Asha Parekh trademark.” But the actress doesn’t take full credit for being the fashion icon. She shares it with the designers who designed her. “I was styled by talented designers like Bhanu Athaiya, Madame Pompadour and Leena Daru. We Indian women have unique body types and our designers understood that,” she shared.

Asha Parekh was a fashion icon of her time. (Express archive photo)

As many colours as Parekh’s life was painted with on the screen, in reality, it remained colourless. “I had fallen in love — who does not?”, the actor had written in her autobiography. In fact, as a teenager she had a huge crush on a “tall and handsome boy next door” but it stayed confined to stealing glances from the balcony. The only man that Parekh fell in love with was Nasir Husain. But she never wished to be a ‘home breaker’. She wrote in her book, “Nasir saab was the only man I ever loved. I was enamoured by him. I loved him. But it was not meant to be.” Well, the astrologer that Parekh’s mother had consulted, had said that “this girl will not get married.”.

Though she made peace with unrequited love, it was hard for Parekh to come to terms with the loss of her parents, and she slipped into depression. She had to consult doctors to overcome her suicidal thoughts.

“It was a very bad phase for me. I lost my parents. I was totally alone and I had to manage everything all alone. It did put me in depression. I was feeling miserable and had these (suicidal) thoughts. Then I got out of it. It is a struggle, I had to take the aid of the doctors to get out of it,” Parekh told PTI in an interview. She even remembered in her book calling her close friend Waheeda Rehman during one of her anxiety attacks and telling her, “I want to commit suicide”. Waheeda talked her out of it and made a promise to her that she would never think she was alone.

In the 90s, Parekh finally retired from the movies, after getting disappointed in the roles of mother or sister that she played until the late 80s. She then tried her hand at direction on the small screen and gave the audience one of the finest TV shows in Kora Kaagaz. But by the 2000s, she put the camera away from her and finally decided, “No more acting or direction for me. All good things must come to an end.”

Asha Parekh received the Dadasaheb Phalke award from President Droupadi Murmu at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. (Photo: Praveen Khanna)

However, all through her successful career, Parekh remained rooted and humble. Zeenat Aman recently told her during an ABP interview, “You are lovely on-screen but you are a much lovelier person off-screen.” Shammi Kapoor also referred to her as a “fine human being”. Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali had written a note in her book in which he mentioned, “Ashaji is as real as it can get. Though a legendary star, she has never behaved like one.”

Maybe the only controversies that Parekh courted were during her tenure (1998-2001) as the head of the Central Board of Film Certification, especially with films like Fire, Zakhm and Elizabeth.

Today, at 81, Asha Parekh is not cocooned in some corner of her house. She is still living her life to the fullest with her friends, Waheeda Rehman and Helen, going on lunch and movie dates. Though watching her contemporaries die makes her anxious, she only wishes to “go without pain” and wants people to remember her as a “nice girl.”