She was known as the go-go girl. Vivacious, charming gamine-like, Asha Parekh ushered in a new chapter in screen “heroine-ism”. While earlier heroines were either strong and sensitive (Nargis, Geeta Bali, Nutan) or soft and feminine (Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman) Asha Parekh was a startling mixture of strength and vulnerability.
She was an archetypal babe-in-the-woods who could walk away with the whole forest if you weren’t looking. Known to be an incorrigible prankster Asha would constantly be up to some mischief or the other on the sets. Her co-stars never thought of having an affair with this tomboyish seductress. She was, after all one of the boys.
Right from Shammi Kapoor (whom she called Shammi Chacha) to Rajesh Khanna (from whom she kept a distance), every leading man gave his biggest hits with Asha. For a major part of the 1960s, her tally of successes outnumbered that of all her colleagues like Sharmila Tagore, Nutan, Waheeda Rehman and Sadhana.
Everything Asha touched turned into gold. The number of silver and golden jubilee hits that she participated in ever since her striking debut with Shammi Kapoor in Nasir Husain’s Dil Deke Dekho made her the envy of tinsel town. From Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon and Teesri Manzil to Do Badan and Aan Milo Sajna—Asha Parekh was like a hit churning vending machine.
Her association with producer-director Nasir Husain was one of the most productive collaborations of the commercial Hindi cinema. From Dil Deke Dekho in 1959 to Caravan in 1971, Asha was the leading lady of all Nasir Husain’s frothy creations.
Unfortunately, the blithe spirited musicals that she specialised in doing saddled Asha with a frivolous image. She longed to be taken seriously as an actress. The chance to do came with Raj Khosla’s Do Badan and Chirag. But it was Shakti Samanta’s Kati Patang where she played a deglamorised widow which fetched her critical acclaim. Later, Asha excelled in the brief title role of Raj Khosla’s Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki.
Very few Indian actresses have had as successful an innings as Asha Parekh. A consummate dancer Asha enjoyed doing roles that required her to exhibit her twinkle toes. She enjoyed public dance recitals until her mother’s death—a tragedy that left a lasting void in her life. Today, she has given up movie acting completely but remains one of the most active film personalities of her generation. In her capacity of the chairperson of the Indian censorboard Asha Parekh was constantly in the eye of media storms. After acting, it direction is what consumed Asha’s interest. Her television serial Kora Kagaz was a huge hit.
“I guess I have been very fortunate in life,” Asha recalls her heydays in the movies when every other release featured her as a fun-loving imp making life miserable for the hero who hated her at first sight but soon came around.
Who could resist the waif-like grin and the saucer-eyed mischief of Asha Parekh? A wise investor, Asha is one of the most financially well-off actresses from her era. Her penchant for charity work is legendary. A whole wing of a hospital in Mumbai is named after Asha Parekh. Forever on the move and constantly extending a helping hand to the needy both within and outside the film industry, Asha’s success story goes much further than her admittedly astonishing innings as a hit actress. She bowed out of the rat race when the going was great and carved a place from behind the scenes as a spokesperson and representative of the film industry. No wonder they called her the go-go girl. Any regrets about remaining a bachelor girl? “None at all. If I was married I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things that I’ve done in my life.”.
The only regret is that Asha never got any substantial recognition as an actress. She’s a typical product of a time when success was divorced from unanimous recognition. That mindset changed after Asha matched strides with the formidable Nutan in Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki. They finally had to sit up and take notice.
