Veteran Actor Asha Parekh To Receive Dada Saheb Phalke Award Honour

This year, veteran and renowned actor Asha Parekh will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for her stupendous contribution to Indian cinema, confirmed Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Last year, Rajinikanth was honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2019. However, the awards were delayed by a year due to the pandemic.

She is also a recipient of the Padma Shri, awarded to her by the Government of India in 1992 for services to cinema. She was also the first female chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) of India.

Asha Parekh To Receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Parekh started her career as a child actor and was cast by filmmaker Bimal Roy in Maa (1952) when she was 10. After a few films, the actor took a break to complete her education and returned as the lead actress in writer-director Nasir Hussain’s Dil Deke Dekho (1959), which also starred Shammi Kapoor. She is famously known for films like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil (1966), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam, Do Badan (1966), Chirag (1969) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki, among many others. She also starred in regional films across languages, including Gujarati, Punjabi and Kannada films. She was a part of Punjabi films like Kankan De Ohle, opposite Dharmendra and Lambhardarni with Dara Singh. She has also directed Gujarati serial Jyoti (1990) and produced shows such as Palash ke Phool, Baaje Payal, Kora Kagaz and Dal Mein Kaala.

Parekh, who never married, opened up about embracing singehood in an interview to Harper's Bazaar India, “I guess I was not destined to get married. Honestly, I would have loved to get married and have children, but it wasn’t meant to be. However, I have absolutely no regrets.”

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is considered as India's highest honour in the field of cinema. It is given in the memory of Dadasaheb Phalke, who is regarded as the ‘father of Indian cinema’, having made the first Hindi movie, Raja Harishchandra. Previous recipients include Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra, Lata Mangeshkar, Mrinal Sen, Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna.

Suggested Reading: Asha Parekh And Her Over Six Decades-Long Legacy As A Woman In Film Industry