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ASHA PAREKH: YESTERYEAR BEAUTY: HITS 71

 

ashaparekhmain.jpgYesteryear star Asha Parekh, who once scorched the silver screen with her roles in films like Kati Patang, Teesri Manzil and Love In Tokyo, still has the never-say-die spirit as she turns 71. The actress seems content to stay away from the arc-lights but that has not stopped her from keeping in touch with her pals from the industry and she is a regular on Bollywood's social circuit. She was last spotted at the special screening of the film Phata Poster Nikla Hero with Salman Khan's family and friends in Mumbai last month.

 

We take a look at the life of this hauntingly beautiful actress who still exudes grace and elegance.

 

 

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ASHA PAREKH: YESTERYEAR BEAUTY: HITS 71

 

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Asha Parekh was one of the reigning stars in the Hindi film industry from 1959 to 1973 and is said to have starred in more hit films than any other actress.She was born into a Gujarati family in Maharashtra and began her career as a child artiste under the screen name Baby Asha Parekh in the film Aasmaan in 1952. Acclaimed filmmaker Bimal Roy saw her performance during a stage show and cast her in the movie Baap Beti (1954) when she was just 12 years old. The film was a flop and Ashaji decided to take a break from the silver screen to resume schooling.

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ASHA PAREKH: YESTERYEAR BEAUTY: HITS 71

 

Asha Parekh

 

The late Prem Nath once said, “I’ll come to the show only if Asha is dancing.” There was a function in school. But my mother said, “She doesn’t know how to dance.” Be­cause I used to dance only to the mu­sic of records. But Prem Nath in­sisted. So, in 10 days my mother prepared me. I remember that it was my first stage performance. My mother didn’t know how to drape me. She draped her Benares silk saree round me like a dhoti. I was a plump child, so I looked very fat. When my mother went into the au­ditorium to get the reaction, she heard one person commenting, “My God this poor girl dances so much but is still so fat, does not reduce.” It was funny. That’s how things started moving.

 

 

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ASHA PAREKH: YESTERYEAR BEAUTY: HITS 71

 

Personal life

 

 

Parekh has remained unmarried, claiming that her reputation of being unapproachable made people hesitate in asking for her hand in marriage. There were rumors that she was romantically involved with her married director Nasir Hussain. In her later years, Parekh said that she had a longtime boyfriend but declined to elaborate on the relationship, only stating that "it was nice while it lasted." She said she had not seen Nasir Hussain during the last year of his life, as he became reclusive because of his wife's death, but she did speak to him the day before he died in 2002.  

 

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On her 71st birthday, revisiting Asha

Parekh's top 10 films

Wednesday, Oct 2, 2013,

 

Asha Parekh

 

Veteran actress Asha Parekh, who turns 71 Wednesday, is popularly known as the glamorous 'Miss Neeta'. But she also gave some truly sensitive performances when the need arose.

Here's looking at her 10 best films:

Bharosa (1963): A simple rustic tale with Guru Dutt and Asha cast as lovers oblivious to the maladies around them. The love story had good performances and melodious songs like "Woh Dil Kahan Se".

Do Badan (1966): The first of Raj Khosla's trilogy of films that offered scope for Asha to perform in a serious dramatic role. In the film, her co-star Manoj Kumar loses his eyesight and the class divide seperates the two lovers. The lovers meet with a tragic end in the movie.

Teesri Manzil (1966): An out-and-out late actor Shammi Kapoor's vehicle, in which Asha left a sunny mark by creating her own space as a girl in search of her dead sister's killer. Her sheer vivacity and space control in the film's celebrated R.D. Burman's songs furnished Shammi a worthy co-star.

Baharon Ke Sapne (1967): At a time when her career was saturated with light-hearted picnicky roles, Asha surprised everyone, including herself, with her scrubbed no-makeup look and intense performance in her mentor Nasir Hussain's most realistic film ever. Set in the backdrop of mill workers woes, the film saw Asha as Rajesh Khanna's love interest.

Chirag (1969): Filmmaker Raj Khosla had a special affinity to Asha's histrionic persona that most directors chose to bypass. In this dramatic film, Asha was cast as a blind woman who is estranged from her husband played by late actor Sunil Dutt. It is still remembered for her restrained performance and the Madan Mohan composed melody "Teri aankhon ke siva duniya mein rakha kya hai".

Kati Patang (1970): Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore turned down the role of the widow in the film. Director Shakti Samanta, who had done two wonderful films - Aradhana and Amar Prem - with late actor Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila, signed Asha instead. Playing the unfortunate lady in white, Asha melted hearts and also won popular awards like Filmfare for her performance.

Nadaan (1971): She played a tomboy who transforms into a feminine entity after she is smooched by actor Navin Nischol. Deven Verma directed this forgettable film, made memorable by the actress' fun-to-sombre transition.

Caravan (1971): The last of the seven films that she did with her mentor Nasir Hussain, Caravan was arguably the biggest hit of Asha's success-driven career. Though the focus was on Aruna Irani as the fiery gypsy woman, Asha held her own as the runaway girl mostly hidden from public view.

Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978): As the eponymous Tulsi destined to remain an outsider in the home set-up Asha had only 20 minutes of playing-time in this Nutan-dominated drama directed by Raj Khosla. But she left a lasting impression. The soul-searing title song sung by Lata Mangeshkar aided her performance.

Bin Phere Hum Tere(1979): The movie gave her a chance to play the archetypal all-giving mother-figure. Asha's character goes through many phases of cruelty in a patriarchal society, from prostitution to widowhood to an all-sacrificing mother's role as she devotes her life to looking after her dead beloved's twin sons. One can't say much about the quality of film that featured Vinod Mehra in a double role. But Asha shone.

What more can we say about this effervescent actress, except to borrow a line from a song in Bharosa - Aaj ki mulaqat bass itni.

   
  
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ASHA PAREKH: YESTERYEAR BEAUTY: HITS 71

 

Here's looking at her 10 best films:

 

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-16794697616662_2268_7998873

 

1) Bharosa (1963):

 

(Trust)  A simple rustic tale with Guru Dutt and Asha cast as lovers oblivious to the maladies around them. The love story had good performances and melodious songs like "Woh Dil Kahan Se" and Mohd Rafi's Ek Bhari Duniya mein:

 

Rich and ailing Ramdas (Shivraj) leaves his infant child Bansi in the care of his servant Raunaklal (Kanhayalal) and his wife with a large sum of money for his upkeep and education before shifting to a hospital. Raunaklal decides toshifts to a village, buys lands there and starts treating Bansi as a labourer while spending the fortune on his own son's Deepak's (Soodesh Kumar) education in the city. But Deepak, instead of concentrating on his studies,befriends a bluffer, Platform MPPS (Mehmood). Meanwhile, Bansi (Guru Dutt) flips for Gomti (Asha Parekh). A rich landlord Daulat Ram (Om Prakash) comes to the village, and makes Raunaklal the caretaker of his fields. Platform and Deepak succeed in fooling Daulat Ram into believing the latter is the scion of a princely state who happily marries off his daughter Sushma (Neena) to him.

When Raunaklal gets to know the truth, he ceases the opportunity and usurps friend Shiv Charan's (Nana Palsikar) property making him believe that his daughter Gomti had run away and thereby not suitable for his son Deepak. Actually, Raunaklal himself had been responsible for making a naÃŊve Gomti to go to town in search of Bansi whom he had already thrown away from the house. Raunaklal and Deepak get exposed when Daulatram learns the truth from philanthropist Seth Ram Das. Bansi accidentally discovers Raunaklal and his wife as beggars, and brings them home. A reformed Raunaklal reveals the truth in a dramatic climax which is somewhat ruined in an attempt to end the film on a happy note.

Kanhaiyalal steals the thunder from all others in this film as a greedy, scheming man. Asha Parekh is her usual competent self as the bubbly village lass, scoring in dramatic scenes. Guru Dutt runs through his performance with a poker face, disinterest writ large on his face, probably his worst. Despite starting off his career as a dance director, Guru Dutt, in this film, displays two left feet. “Bharosa”, however, stands out for some notable performances by the other main cast based on a script by Sudarshan Babbar.

 

SURESH KOHLI

 

 

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