Asha Parekh was the lucky mascot during the 60s but she successfully runs a hospital, has directed serials and was the first female Censor Board chairman. She talks to Saimi Sattar about her life and her love
A tiara, delicately placed in her carefully crafted bouffant, abaazuband on her bare arm, a tightchuridar kurta, which would make an ordinary mortal pass out immediately for the lack of air... Asha Parekh defined the lookbook for Indian film-goers for 15 years. She was launched as the female lead in Dil Deke Dekho (1969), which released on her 17th birthday on October 2 1969, after starring in some movies as a child artist. Soon after, when nine of Parekh’s 10 rapid fire movies became huge ticket sellers at the box office, she was quickly christened the Hit Girl and the lucky Mascot.
And it is the memory of that successful run that is reprised in her autobiography, The Hit Girl, which she has written with journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director Khalid Mohammed. Published by Om Books, it takes you not just through Parekh’s successful silver screen run but also gives the reader a peek into her growing up years.
But what makes the book a much-awaited one is her admission of love for director Nasir Hussain – something which was always rumoured about but never admitted by both. “No one knew about it, not even my mother to whom I was very close,” she says. Hussain, besides her debut movie, Dil Deke Dekho, also worked with her in five others – all of whom were huge hits. Hussain was a married man and Parekh did not want to hurt her parents by being labelled as the “other woman” who broke up a family. Initially, the dignified silence and even the manner in which she made the disclosure ensured that ties with Hussain’s family endured. It was none other than actor Aamir Khan, Hussain’s nephew who released her book.
Ironically, her screen characters were at odds with her personal life. Parekh often essayed roles of a happy-go-lucky girl who gets married to her prince charming after many trials and tribulations. Hits like Mere Sanam (1965), Phir Wohi Dil laya Hoon (1963), Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1961), love in Tokyo (1966) and others played up on the same theme and saw resounding box office success.
Though as a child, Parekh loved to dance, she had no intentions of becoming an actor. Born to a Vaishnav Gujarati father and a Bohra Muslim mother, Parekh wanted to be a doctor. “I saw an accident and then realised that I couldn’t see blood and abandoned my dreams to be a doctor. Then I thought I would join civil services but destiny had something else in store,” says the 74 year-old actor.
She was about 15-16 when she was signed by Vijay Bhatt for Goonj Uthi Shehnai. After shooting for three-four days, she was replaced by Ameeta, who had hit box office gold with Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957). But destiny didn’t disappoint. Eminent producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who had hits like Bandhan (1940),Kangan (1941) andMunimji (1955) behind him, saw her and the rest, as they say is history.
While Parekh often essayed glamorous roles, which sometimes alternated with tomboy ones, her off screen persona was more of the latter. She hung out with neighbourhood boys during adolescence. “Instead of cooing over dolls, I would join them in street games involving heaps of stones, twigs, glass and marbles. We would pretend to be macho by dangling candy cigarettes from our lips,” she writes in her biography. No wonder, she was much at ease while playing a character on similar lines in Ziddi, during which she even learnt to clamber on top of an elephant from the trunk.
However, it was her very first producer Sashidhar Mukherjee, who from the very first movie Dil Deke Dekho, emphasised on dressing up well. “Bhanu Athaiya did my costumes. Madame Pompadour from the Taj came for my Western dresses. Mukherjee made me conscious that style was important and then I started concentrating on it,” she says. later on, she took leena Daru, a J J School of Arts Graduate, on board to do her costumes. “I did have my inputs for the look I wanted,” she says. Daru went on to work with actors Rekha and Hema Malini.
A good dancer, who had training inKathak andBharatnatyam, another thing that her movies had was a dance number. “My favourites are Dekho Bijli Dole (Phir Wohi Dil laya Hoon) and Man Mora Tarpat (Teri Soorat Meri Aankhen) and the dance numbers from Kanyadaan,” she says. It’s another story that most of us remember her matching step by skillful step with Shammi Kapoor on the unforgettable Aaja Aaja number from Teesri Manzil.
And it is her love for dance that makes her wish that she had done the Vyajanthimala-starrer Amrapali, where the dancing was fabulous. There were other opportunities that Parekh missed out on. Working with Satyajit Ray (for lack of dates), K. Asif (because of a misunderstanding), Dilip Kumar (because of a movie starring them being shelved) – which she regrets. Another thing that she would have wished to do was be a part of a woman centric film. “More of these are being made now. Movies like Kahaani and Piku are the two which I especially loved,” she says. Compared to her times, she feels acting has improved and now the movies are technically superior.
She had picked up the nuances of direction from stalwarts like Raj Khosla and Nasir Sahab. From Hrishikesh Mukherjee, she learnt some editing too. This stood her in good stead when she started directing serials. “I was supposed to direct a film but something went wrong. So I ventured into TV and first did a Gujrati serial, Jyoti (1988) about women empowerment, which was a big hit. I was given an extension for 13 episodes,” she says. She went on to direct Hindi serials Baaje Payal, Palaash Ke Phool, Kora Kagaz and others which were hits.
But it was a controversy which forced her to step back from direction. “People started saying that a ghost director was directing them. That was annoying. They wanted to show that the assistant director was doing it. It was actor Renuka Shahane, who starred in Kora Kagaz, who came out in my defence,” she says.
Her stint as the first female Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification from (1998-2001) was also marked by controversies. Movies like Zakhm, Fire and Elizabeth ran into trouble with the board. “I did my work according to what I thought was right. I did not speak to the Press,” she clarifies about the reason that she maintained her silence.
Parekh is currently a trustee at the Asha Parekh hospital. “I couldn’t become a doctor so this is my contribution towards health. My mother was a social worker and used to go to this hospital. When I donated a wing called Asha Parekh Medical and Surgical Room, I was at the peak of my career. So they named it Asha Parekh Hospital,” she says.
She also ran a dance academy for 10 years, called Kara Bhawan Academy. “People left, others died and everything started falling apart, so I shut it,” she says.
Despite her age, she can take a joke. Parekh writes in her book that she was often made fun of because of her derriere. There were Asha Parekh puns like she goes to the temple and says, “Main tumhare paas badi aas lekar aai hun.” Hope or aas denoting you know what. That’s certainly refreshing in times when even a minor prick can puncture big star egos. She says, “I like people with a good sense of humour and I can take a joke.”
Parekh still loves to hang out with her set of girlfriends – Saira Banu, Waheeda Rehman, Shammi Aunty — and goes to lunches and films with them. “I am an avid reader. I like listening to music and watching TV,” says the actor, dressed in a black, brown and red sari as she pats her perfectly coiffured hair. Parekh is perfectly turned out, even though the arc lights have shifted.