Asha Parekh

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Lore & Background

Asha Parekh was born on 2 October 1942 in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. Her mother, Sudha 'Salma' Lakdawala, a Bohri Muslim and freedom fighter, was briefly incarcerated for protesting against British colonial rule while pregnant with Parekh. Her father, Bachubhai Parekh, was a Gujarati Hindu. Growing up, Parekh wanted to be a doctor but changed her mind after witnessing a train accident. She was interested in dance from a young age, and veteran actor Prem Nath, impressed by her abilities, asked Kathak dancer Mohanlal Pandey to train her for a performance at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, where director Bimal Roy first saw her. Roy cast her as a child actor in Maa (1952). Parekh made her adult debut in Dil Deke Dekho (1959) opposite Shammi Kapoor, beginning a long association with producer Subodh Mukherjee and writer-director Nasir Hussain, with whom she worked on six more films: Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil (1966), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), and Caravan (1971). She starred in numerous successful films including Ziddi (1964), Mere Sanam (1965), Love in Tokyo (1966), Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966), Upkar (1967), and Kati Patang (1970), for which she won her only Filmfare Award for Best Actress. In a BBC interview, Parekh said that until Do Badan (1966) she was considered a 'glamour girl' but her performance in the film established her as a 'good actor.'

After Kaalia (1981), Parekh pivoted to television and directed the Gujarati-language show Jyoti (1988–1989). She started the production company Akruti, behind Palash ke Phool (1989–1990), Baaje Payal, Kora Kagaz (1998–2002), and Dal Mein Kaala (1998–1999). From 1994 to 2000, she was president of the Cine and TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA). In 1991, she helped form the Cine Artiste Welfare Trust. Between 1998 and 2001, she became the first woman to be appointed as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Her autobiography, The Hit Girl, was published in 2017.

Reader's Guide

Asha Parekh's significance lies in her sustained success as a leading actress in Hindi cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, starring in more than 85 films over a career spanning over 40 years. She worked with major directors like Nasir Hussain, Raj Khosla, and Shakti Samanta. Her performance in Do Badan (1966) marked a shift from being seen as a 'glamour girl' to a 'good actor.' She earned Filmfare nominations for Chirag (1969) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), and won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Kati Patang (1970). Beyond acting, Parekh broke ground as the first woman chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (1998–2001), where she navigated controversies over films such as Fire (1996), Zakhm (1998), and Elizabeth (1998). Regarding Fire, she wrote in her memoir that the film portrayed 'the bold theme of same-gender love between two women' aesthetically and without sensationalism, and that 'there was no reason to ban it at all.' For Zakhm, CBFC required the film to be cleared with senior police officers as a cautionary measure. She also dealt with disputes over songs deemed offensive to women, as in Mother (1999), and films linked to underworld financing, such as Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001). In her memoir, Parekh stated her aim as CBFC chairperson was to censor excessive vulgarity and violence, degradation of women, and non-essential abusive language, saying, 'I had to strike a balance between carrying out the responsibilities as stated in the censorship guidelines and the filmmaker's right to freedom of expression.'

Parekh also contributed to industry welfare as president of CINTAA (1994–2000) and as a founding trustee of the Cine Artiste Welfare Trust. In 2011, she and director Vipul Shah came forward to support the medical expenses of ailing actor and freedom fighter A.K. Hangal. Her legacy includes being a pioneering female figure in Indian film administration and a celebrated star of her era.

Did You Know?

• Asha Parekh's mother, Sudha 'Salma' Lakdawala, was a freedom fighter who was briefly incarcerated for protesting against British colonial rule while pregnant with Parekh.
• Parekh initially wanted to become a doctor but changed her mind after witnessing a train accident.
• She was first spotted by director Bimal Roy at a dance performance at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, after being trained by Kathak dancer Mohanlal Pandey.
• Parekh was rejected from Vijay Bhatt's Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) because the filmmaker claimed she was not 'star material,' only to be cast eight days later in Dil Deke Dekho (1959).
• She was the first woman to be appointed as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), serving from 1998 to 2001.

Early Life & Discovery

Asha Parekh was born on 2 October 1942 in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, into a household shaped by India's independence struggle. Her mother, Sudha Lakdawala, a Bohri Muslim freedom fighter, was briefly imprisoned for protesting British colonial rule while carrying Asha. Her father, Bachubhai Parekh, was a Gujarati Hindu, and the couple had met as students at Fergusson College in Pune. As a child, Asha initially dreamed of becoming a doctor, a path she abandoned after witnessing a harrowing train accident. Her true gift, however, lay in movement and expression. Veteran actor Prem Nath, visiting the Anand family next door, noticed her natural talent for dance and arranged for Kathak dancer Mohanlal Pandey to coach her for a performance at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai. It was at that very event that director Bimal Roy first laid eyes on her, leading to her casting as a child performer in the 1952 film Maa and the beginning of a remarkable cinematic journey.

Career Arc & the Road to Stardom

Parekh's path to stardom was far from straightforward. After a string of child-actor roles beginning with Maa in 1952, she stepped away from the industry following the box-office disappointment of Baap Beti and returned to her schooling. At sixteen she tried to re-enter, only to be rejected by Vijay Bhatt for Goonj Uthi Shehnai, who reportedly felt she lacked star quality. A mere eight days later, producer Subodh Mukherjee and director Nasir Hussain cast her in Dil Deke Dekho (1959) opposite Shammi Kapoor, igniting a creative partnership that would span six films over the next decade. The 1960s and early 1970s delivered a steady stream of hits—Ziddi, Mere Sanam, Upkar, Teesri Manzil—while Do Badan (1966) marked a turning point; in a BBC interview she recalled that until that film she was seen as a glamour girl, but its performance redefined her as a serious actress. Kati Patang (1970) earned her sole Filmfare Best Actress Award. She also ventured into Gujarati, Punjabi, and Kannada cinema, and starred opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Kaalia (1981), their only on-screen collaboration.

Beyond the Screen: Direction, Production & Industry Leadership

After Kaalia, Parekh channeled her creative drive into television and production. She directed the Gujarati-language series Jyoti (1988–1989) and founded Akruti, the production house behind Palash ke Phool, Kora Kagaz, and Dal Mein Kaala. Her dedication to the wider film community extended well past the camera. From 1994 to 2000 she served as president of the Cine and TV Artistes' Association, and in 1991 she co-founded the Cine Artiste Welfare Trust with Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Mithun Chakraborty, and Amjad Khan to offer financial and medical support to struggling artists. In 2011, she and director Vipul Shah rallied to cover the medical bills of ailing actor and freedom fighter A.K. Hangal. Perhaps most significantly, between 1998 and 2001 Parekh became the first woman ever appointed chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification. Her tenure was immediately tested by the controversy surrounding Deepa Mehta's Fire (1996), a film that had already garnered critical praise at international festivals before its Indian release.

Honors, Legacy & the Woman Behind the Roles

Across a career stretching more than four decades and encompassing over 85 films, Parekh built a body of work that earned her the highest honors in Indian cinema. The Government of India conferred the Padma Shri on her in 1992 in recognition of her contributions to the film industry, and in 2020 she received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the nation's most prestigious cinematic distinction. The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award followed in 2002, crowning a career that had already produced one Filmfare Best Actress win and multiple nominations, including for Chirag (1969) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978). Beyond the silver screen, Parekh shared her personal story with readers through her autobiography, The Hit Girl, published in 2017. The book offered an intimate portrait of the woman behind the iconic roles, tracing her journey from a childhood marked by her mother's activism to the highs and lows of Bombay's golden era of filmmaking.