A hand imprint tile of Asha Parekh will be unveiled at Mumbai’s Walk of the Stars. She tells Karan Bhardwaj that given a chance, she would like to change the way heroines dress today
If Rajesh Khanna was the first superstar, she was the original queen of the Hindi film industry. Her contagious smile, impeccable dance skills and terrific persona on screen lent her successful run at the box office for close to two decades. Asha Parekh ruled the roost in the 60s and was also dubbed as the jubilee actress of that time. “That was the golden era of our cinema. I am glad I was part of it,” she says humbly. Now she will join the league of Yash Chopra, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and many other legendary figures as UTV Stars Walk of The Stars will unveil a hand imprint tile of Asha Parekh tomorrow in Mumbai. “People will remember me always. This amazing Walk of the Stars at the Bandstand Promenade in Bandra has immortalised me with many other stars,” she says.
Parekh is missing from action for a decade now. Her last outing was her TV shows. But she is in no mood to work now. “I have been active since 1954. I guess I have done enough. There comes time in everyone’s life when you say, you have done enough. So I don’t think I will turn to acting or direction anytime soon. If I come across something that is interesting and inspiring enough, I may do it. But nothing at present,” she says.
Born in a middle-class Gujarati family with a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, she started learning dance at an early age. Bimal Roy spotted her at a function and cast her as a child artiste in Baap Beti in 1954. She chased her acting career with some insignificant and small roles before hitting the gold with Dil Deke Dekho (1959). “It had a huge premiere where every big star had come. I was so excited and can never forget what that film did to my career,” she recalls. For the next decade, the actor gave one hit every year. In 1966, she delivered four consecutive hits — Teesri Manzil, love In Tokyo, Do Badan and Aaye Din Bahar Ke. “But if I had been active today, I would have to sit at home. I worked in the golden times when we have interesting stories, mesmerising music and beautiful lyrics. Now music is more about electronic equipment,” she says.
Post her hey days, Parekh ventured into character roles in the late 70s. In 90s, she forayed into TV and produced and directed Hindi and Gujarati serials. She successfully helmed dramas like Kora Kagaz and Jyoti. In 1998, she became the first female chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) of India. During her tenure, she invited wrath from her own fraternity for being too strict about censorship. She also didn’t give clearance to Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth. “I still say that censorship needs to be done carefully. Cuss words must not be allowed in movies. But with the coming of Internet, one has to be liberal since people are going to watch everything anyways. I think censorship should be imposed by parents. It is their duty to prevent explicit content from kids’ eyes,” she says.
When Parekh was at her peak, a film’s success was gauged by the number of days it stayed on screen. Silver, golden and platinum jubilees were the benchmarks. Today, one weekend brings crores for producers. “We never imagined film business would take such a massive shape. There are positive changes. Technically, we can compete with Hollywood. Interesting scripts and variety of films are being presented and appreciated by the audience,” she says. The last film Parekh saw was Ram-leela and she “enjoyed” it. “There are many talented filmmakers and actors today. I like regional cinema too. Marathi and Punjabi cinema are flourishing but Gujarati cinema is not coming up with good movies,” she observes. One thing she would like to change in cinema todayIJ “Dresses. And I would like to have Indian costumes, good music and focus on folk tunes,” she concludes.