|
Asha Parekh, with her glamorous yet good girl image starred in a serpentine
string of box-office triumphs. With pert allure and indigenous fashion, Asha
headlined the Sixties' colour blitzkrieg along with Sadhana and Saira Banu. Her
films were essentially cheerful, lighthearted entertainers. Today, they may not
count as classics, but are redolent of a more gentler and amiable age of
entertainers... The scrubbed-clean teenager who represented the new Indian youth
with her trendy trouser suits and who sang and danced so prettily in Dil Deke
Dekho did not lack co-stars.
With pert allure and indigenous fashion, Asha headlined the Sixties' colour
blitzkrieg along with Sadhana and Saira Banu. Her films were essentially
cheerful, lighthearted entertainers. Today, they may not count as classics, but
are redolent of a more gentler and amiable age of entertainers.
Also, whether it was her hill-station romances (Nasir Hussain's Phir Wohi Dil
Laya Hoon, Mukul Dutt's Aan Milo Sajna), or her dramatic roles (Shakti Samanta's
Kati Patang, Raj Khosla's Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki), Asha was a 'good-song
magnet'. Her star persona is heightened by her association with a number of
easily identifiable hit songs. From O P Nayyar (Jaiye aap kahan jayenge), to
Madan Mohan (Teri aankhon ke siva), music maestros have lavished some of their
best compositions on her.
Often, Asha played the rich tomboyish brat. In real life too, Asha grew up as
the centre of her parents' world. Born into a middle-class family in the Mumbai
suburb of Santa Cruz, she was sent to the well-known J B Petit School. Asha
loved dance and she attended classes even if they were far way from her
residence. Her mother was the motivating force in Asha's life.
Once while Asha was dancing onstage, veteran director Bimal Roy offered her a
child's role in his Baap Beti (1954). She did a few films as a child actor,
including Dhobi Doctor and Ayodhyapati. By 1957, Asha was a teenager who danced
alongside her idol Vyjayanthimala in a song from Asha.
It seemed as though Asha had made her breakthrough when veteran filmmaker Vijay
Bhatt cast her as the heroine in his Gunj Uthi Shehnai. But she was thrown out
of the film apparently because she was not 'star material'. A heart-broken Asha
was about to leave for a trip abroad with her dance troupe. But within months,
Sashadhar Mukherji cast her in Dil Deke Dekho (1959). This youth-oriented Nasir
Hussain musical was a smash hit and 17-year-old Asha became a star. Hero Shammi
Kapoor patiently tutored this newcomer and they made a well-liked pair. Shammi
preferred working with new girls and the twosome did not work together onscreen
for almost seven years thereafter.
The scrubbed-clean teenager who represented the new Indian youth with her trendy
trouser suits and who sang and danced so prettily in Dil Deke Dekho did not lack
co-stars. She was soon cast opposite Dev Anand (Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai),
Rajendra Kumar (Gharana) and Joy Mukherji (Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon). Just when
it looked as though Asha was fated to be essay lighthearted roles in a string of
musicals, she made an impact in Ziddi (1964). Asha played a characteristic
no-nonsense tomboy who cavorts around with a cute baby elephant for company. She
surprised many in her emotional scenes, which captured her painful passage to
adulthood.
The true efflorescence of Asha's talent came in the year 1966, which saw her
star in four successful films: Vijay Anand's masterly suspenseful musical Teesri
Manzil reteamed her with Shammi Kapoor, Love In Tokyo gave her a chance to dance
and emote in picturesque Japan, Aaye Din Bahaar Ke started a successful teaming
with Dharmendra (five successes, no flops), and Raj Khosla's rather maudlin Do
Badan offered her the opportunity to play tragedienne. Now on the popularity
charts, Asha sought further histrionic validity. But the public seemed to prefer
her in fashion plate roles like Upkar (1967), Shikar (1968), and Aaya Sawan
Jhoom Ke (1969), rather than her deglamourised roles in Baharon Ke Sapne (1967),
or Chiraag (1969).
Asha finally got the much coveted Best Actress Award in Kati Patang (1970). As
the widow whose watery smile hides a painful secret, Asha bravely kept her white
sari-clad character shorn of commercial glitz. A correctly understated Asha was
well cast; her innate personality traits made it easy for the audience to
sympathise with her. Kati Patang was followed by hits like Aan Milo Sajna, Nasir
Hussain's Caravan and Raj Khosla's Mera Gaon Mera Desh in the early seventies.
But a younger and bolder breed of heroines like Mumtaz and Sharmila Tagore now
ruled the roost. Asha cut down on her work and went on a an extended trip abroad
for her dance shows. When she returned in 1973, her career had lost its early
heat.
Asha concentrated on her distribution concern, her charity work for a Santa Cruz
hospital and on her beautiful seaside bungalow, whose innovative design drew a
lot of approbation. Asha's obsession with dance continued and her performance of
famous dance ballets like Chauladevi won attention. Though there were several
offers for marriage all through the seventies, nothing worked out. Asha
zealously guarded her independence. She did the ocassional film like Raj
Khosla's Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki (1978), or J P Dutta's Hathyar (1989), which
made demands on her creativity. But when she found film roles degenerating into
the maa-bhabhi glut, she firmly retired from films in the early 1990s.
Asha served a term as the head of the Censor Board. In her late fifties, Asha
found her groove as director.
Famous Movies:
|
