In the 1960s and 1970s, if there was one actress, who was ruling the Hindi film industry and was picking awards for the same, it was Asha Parekh. The iconic actress is one of the most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Over the years, we have seen so many actresses calling Asha Parekh their inspiration and the reason why they came into Bollywood, and such was the impact she had on people.
From being a recipient of the Padma Shri Award and winning countless awards for her amazing performances in her movies, Asha Parekh has engraved her status as one of the most influential celebrities of her era. Born on October 2, 1942, in Mumbai, Asha Parekh was always quite interested in acting and dancing during her childhood. The actress’ parents were also quite aware of it, so they enrolled her in classical dance classes right from an early age.
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Asha Parekh debuted as a child actor in Bimal Roy’s movie, Maa (1952) under the name, ‘Baby Asha Parekh’. At that time, she was just 10 years old, and it clearly speaks volumes about her talent. After working on some projects as a child actor, Asha Parekh made her acting debut as a heroine in Hindi cinema with the film, Dil Deke Dekho (1959), opposite legendary actor, Shammi Kapoor. The film was not just a commercial success at the box office but made her a star overnight.
Some of Asha Parekh’s best movies are Teesri Manzil, Kati Patang, Dil Deke Dekho, Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai, Upkar, Love In Tokyo, Baharon Ke Sapne, Pyar Ka Mausam, Caravan, Aan Milo Sajna and many more. With so many hits in her career, Asha Parekh has lifted countless Filmfare Awards. However, the two awards that are the highlight of her astonishing career are Padma Shri which she received in 1992 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award, with which she was honoured in 2020.
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The iconic actress was incredibly famous in India and China courtesy of her successful films. However, not everyone is aware that Asha Parekh’s fan-following in China had become a major headache for the actress once after a Chinese man fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. Not only this, the person flew all the way from China to India and stationed himself outside Asha Parekh’s home in Mumbai in order to propose to her for marriage.
In an interview with Filmfare back in 2017, Asha Parekh talked about one of the scariest moments of her life that forced her to enter her own house while hiding inside her car. The actress admitted that once a creepy Chinese fan had sent her an E-Mail in which he had
"I used to get fan mail by the gunny bags. There was this Chinese fellow, who had plonked himself near my gate and just wouldn’t go. He kept tabs on when I came, when I left. Naturally, I started getting scared. So I’d dunk in when my car entered the gate. When the neighbours asked him to go, he brandished his knife saying, ‘I’ll kill you! I’ve come to marry her’."
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It was indeed a traumatic time for the actress, as she was unable to live freely inside her own house. However, when after multiple requests, the Chinese fan didn’t move away from her house, Asha Parekh called the police commissioner and urged him to take some immediate action. As soon as the actress informed the police, the actress’ fan was taken straight to Arthur Road Jail.
Just like everyone, Asha thought that the chapter was more than finished, but the Chinese fan didn’t give up and wrote a letter to the actress from jail. Recalling what was written in the letter, Asha revealed that the person was requesting her to bail him out, but she didn’t do it because she was scared. Opening up about the same, she said:
"I called up the police commissioner. They put him in Arthur Road Jail. From there, he wrote a letter asking me to bail him out. It was creepy."
For the unversed, Asha Parekh never got married and is happily single. However, she fell in love, and the man was none other than the iconic filmmaker, Nasir Hussain. In one of her old interviews, the actress admitted that she loved him, but since he was married and had kids, she didn’t want to be labelled as a ‘homewrecker’, which was why she never married Nasir. The actress once opened up about her love for Nasir in a throwback interview and shared how her love for Nasir was hidden but dull of depth. She had said:
"Nasir saab (filmmaker Nasir Hussain) was the only man I ever loved. I was enamoured by him. I loved him. But it was not meant to be. Love in those days was hidden. There was a pardah (veil). Sachai thi, depth thi. But today there’s no therav. Today we have become so practical, that we have lost out on emotion."
Apart from being the 'Jubilee Girl', Asha Parekh will always be respected and admired for the decision she took in her personal life that inspired a lot of people.
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