Today is Asha Parekh’s birthday. Parekh’s mother Sudha enrolled her in classical dance class at an early age.Director Bimal Roy spotted her on stage and cast her in Maa and later Baap Beti in 1954. At 16, she was cast in Goonj Uthi Shehnanayi and then rejected by director Vijay Bhatt who claimed she would never make it as a star. Producer Sashadhar Mukherjee signed her almost immediately in a film Dil Deke Dekho written and directed by Nasir Hussain and the rest is history.
Director Raj Khosla broke her frothy image in Do Badan followed by a never to be forgotten musical directed by Goldie Anand Teesri Manzil that came to be regarded as a classic. Years galloped by and Parekh’s track record at the box-office earned her the coveted title of “Jubilee Girl”. The 70s were a down slide for the star but Asha Parekh still managed rave reviews from her critics in Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki and Gujarati film Kulvadhu.
In the coming decades Asha Parekh produced and directed TV serials under her banner Akruti and also served as President, CINTAA and chairperson, CBFC. She set up her dance academy in the early career, her distribution company in her peak time and was crusading for her Asha Parekh Hospital in the later years. In 2023, she was bestowed with Dadasaheb Phalke Award.