Asha Parekh

Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is an Indian film actress, director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful actresses of the 1960s and 1970s.[2][3] She is considered one of the most influential actresses of all time in Hindi cinema.[4] In 1992, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution to the field of cinema. Asha Parekh is nicknamed as “Jubilee girl”.

Parekh started her career as a child artist under the screen name Baby Asha Parekh. Famed film director Bimal Roy saw her dance at a stage function and cast her at the age of ten in Maa (1952) and then repeated her in Baap Beti (1954).[11] The latter film’s failure disappointed her, and even though she did a few more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling.[12] At sixteen she decided to try acting again, and to make her debut as a heroine, but she was rejected from Vijay Bhatt’s Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) in favour of actress Ameeta, because the filmmaker claimed she was not star material. Precisely eight days later, film producer Subodh Mukherjee and writer-director Nasir Hussain cast her as the heroine in Dil Deke Dekho (1959), opposite Shammi Kapoor, which made her a huge star.[13]

Career in the 60s

Asha Parekh tasted huge commercial success throughout the 1960s. After “Dil deke dekho” her next hit movie came the following year “Ghoonghat”. In 1961 Asha Parekh starred in two major hits of the year “Gharana” and “Jab pyar kisi se hota hai”.The latter was her second association with Nassir Hussain. She teamed up again with Nassir Hussain in the year 1963 for the superhit film “Phir wohi dil laya hoon”. In the year 1964 came her “Ziddi” which too was a major hit. The following year Asha Parekh was seen in the movie”Mere Sanam”.The movie was a musical hit. The year 1966 proved to be the most successful year for the actress’career. All her four releases this year were moneymakers. In the year 1967 Asha Parekh was cast by Manoj Kumar in his movie “Upkar” paired opposite him. It was the highest grossing movie of the year. The same year she also worked for Nassir Hussain’s “Baharo ke sapne” however unlike previous times this movie couldn’t do well. In 1968 Asha Parekh had two major hits “Shikar” and “Kanyadaan”. The last year of the decade saw her in hits like “Saajan” and “Aaya Saawan jhoom ke”. The same year her movie “Chirag”although a box-office bomb earned her a filmare award nomination for best actress.