Asha Parekh Turns 80: How This Jubilee Girl Became A Timeless, Pathbreaking Artist

It is far from common that we witness the splendour of an artist reigning in our hearts decades after they have moved on from a professional career in acting. Asha Parekh does that for you. Slowing down has nothing to do with age and Padma Shri Asha Parekh has not only preached this but also lived by the very fabric of it. As a trailblazer, she has led the way in starring in films that gave equal star value as a female lead. As a pathbreaker, she chose to work both in front of the camera and behind the camera which earned her the title of the golden jubilee girl. As someone who forged her destiny with self-assuredness, Parekh defied societal norms and chose to embrace singlehood without regret. She never shied away from the public consumption of the choices she made in life, and even came out with an autobiography, The Hit Girl, a few years back.

Parekh, who recently received the Dadasaheb Phalke award, has always believed in both faith and hard work. The star who came from the black and white era has donned multiple hats in her career spanning six decades. As Asha Parekh turns 80, we reflect on how the choices she made through her career and personal life makes her a fine artist and an epitome of grace in today's time.

Suggested Reading: Watch: Madhuri Dixit Dances With Yesteryear Divas Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh And Helen

Asha Parekh turns 80

Asha Parekh first faced the camera when she was ten years old with the film Maa. At 12, she landed a role in renowned director Bimal Roy's film Baap-Beti. Parekh went back to studying, and when she decided to try her luck in the film industry at 16, she faced rejection by a big director on grounds of her not having a star value. But her strong will and fate instead offered her something bigger, and she landed a lead role in director Nasir Hussain's film Dil Deke Dekho opposite Shammi Kapoor. A film that changed the course of her life for the better. She further signed blockbusters including Teesri Manzil, Pyaar Ka Mausam, Baharon Ke Sapne, Caravan, and Phir Woh Dil Laya Hun among many others.

With films like Do Badan, Kati Patang, Chirag, and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki working wonders, she established her mark in the hearts of the audience. Parekh chose to move on from films and bid farewell to her acting career in 1995 to become a director and producer. She started her own production company called Akruti and directed several daily soaps for television under the banner.

Having gone on to become the first woman chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Parekh broke several barriers. Her endeavours also include starting the dance academy by Kara Bhavan, which runs successfully today. She also currently helms the Asha Parekh Hospital in Mumbai as a dedicated social worker. 

The actor has gone beyond boxing herself in the norms created by society, and instead carved a path for herself. Choice is beautiful if availed, and the star orated this throughout her life trajectory. Parekh never held regrets about her choice of staying single. While she would have loved to get married and have children as she expressed in an interview earlier - she believed it was not meant to be and has thoroughly owned every aspect of her singlehood.

Parekh’s life of eighty years has shown that she never needed external factors to make herself happy and content. Her mantra for happiness has been her attitude towards life: to accept everything that came her way, and that is what makes her graceful. While Parekh has vocally expressed how situations for female actors have changed a lot today - and for good - as actors like her did not get stand-alone opportunities after they aged, she has always expressed gratitude for the opportunities she got, and what she made out of the opportunities is the legacy she has created through her filmography.

Parekh has been living her post-70 life compelling in the most compelling way possible. She has maintained her decades-long friendship with actors Waheeda Rehman and Helen from a time when there was a cutthroat competition between actors in the industry.

"I have nothing to hide, nothing more to declare"

The multiple award-winning artist never shied away from answering difficult questions, her mantra has always been to uncomplicate life as much as possible, and honest revelations in her memoir, The Hit Girl, demonstrate that. The actor, who released her autobiography at the age of 75, pretty much summed up all her personal and professional experiences, where she openly mentioned a testing time of her life that affected her love life and those involved. She bared her vulnerability in her book which reveals how she stepped away from love once because she valued friendship over it. The yesteryear star has always conveyed her share of anxieties around loneliness and insecurity being in the industry with utter honesty, and overcoming everything single-handedly whilst embracing the good, bad, and hit and misses, Asha Parekh has surely carved an inspirational path.

She may be turning 80 but there really is no expiry date when it comes to Asha Parekh’s presence within and beyond the film industry, and she truly will be the forever golden jubilee girl of all time.