It’s been over seven decades since veteran actor Asha Parekh entered the film industry, going through several ups and downs. Now, she has sat for a candid conversation with actor Arbaaz Khan, addressing the marriage rumours with Shammi Kapoor and her strained bond with Shatrughan Sinha. Also read: Asha Parekh on her Dadasaheb Phalke Award: ‘All my desires are now fulfilled’
The actor looked back at her career in an episode of The Invincibles Series Season 2. The promo of the episode was released on Monday, which teased a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Asha gets candid
The actor looked back at a time when ‘actresses enjoyed alcohol’ back in the day, recalling an incident when ‘her eyes were so red that she had refused to shoot the next day’.
She went on to address the rumours of her marriage with her co-star Shammi Kapoor, quipped, “Yes, we were married.” She also recalled the moment when legendary Guru Dutt called her mother and told her that he doesn’t think she can be a heroine.
In the teaser, she also reflected on her tiff with Shatrughan, saying, “It was like let’s do just like the way I want. And then he gave some statements in the press, which were very derogatory to him, not to me.”
After Kaalia in 1981, she cut down on her projects, and stopped acting in films. After she quit acting, she became a television director with the Gujarati serial Jyoti. Under her production company, Akruti, Asha produced serials like Palash ke Phool, Baaje Payal, Kora Kagaz and Dal Mein Kaala. In 2008, she was a judge on the reality show Tyohaar Dhamaaka.
In the teaser, she revealed that coming back to acting was not a smooth sail. “It did impact me,” she said when asked about the break, refusing to delve more about the bad phase.
More about Asha
Asha started her acting career at the age of 10 with the 1952 film Aasmaan and went on to star in Bimal Roy’s Baap Beti two years later. Asha made her debut as a leading lady in Nasir Hussain’s 1959 movie Dil Deke Dekho, opposite Shammi Kapoor. In a career spanning over five decades, she starred in over 95 films, such as Dil Deke Dekho, Kati Patang, Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne, Pyar Ka Mausam, and Caravan.
A director and producer as well, Asha had helmed the acclaimed TV serial Kora Kagaz that aired in the late 1990s. She was also the first female chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). She served from 1998-2001. Asha was also honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the country, in 1992. Asha was conferred Dadasaheb Phalke Award by President Droupadi Murmu during the 68th National Film Awards ceremony in 2022.