Asha Parekh The Hit Girl

by Khalid Mohamed

Asha Parekh, an alumnus of Bombay’s The J.B. Petit Girls’ High School, devoted after-school hours to learning classical dance from exacting gurus. Given a break as a leading lady by Filmalaya Studio’s Sashadhar Mukherjee, she debuted opposite Shammi Kapoor in the entertainer Dil Deke Dekho (1959). Instantaneously, the audience and the critics agreed, “A star is born.”
Followed a concatenation of silver and golden jubilee hits, which established her as the quintessential Hit Girl.
Her innumerable dance ballets on stage have earned her incalculable acclaim, at home and overseas.
Among her other facets, she has been involved since decades in running a charitable hospital.
She was Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (1998-2001) and has been associated with the Cine and TV Artistes’ Associations and other organisations dedicated to the welfare of film industry workers, technicians and actors.
She turned producer and director with several top TRP-rated TV serials like Kora Kagaz and Palash ke Phool.
Currently she has chosen to retire from acting, but adds, “Never say never.” She lives by the famed Juhu shoreline in Mumbai.

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2017

Reviews

[DALIP · Rating 5 out of 5]

In A World Where Unauthorised Biographies Seem To Be The Order Of The Day And Authors Who Never Got Even Light Years Close To The Subject Of Their Biography In Their Lifetime Can Actually Be Found Moonlighting Their Biographies In A Cold And Ruthless Manner That Is Nothing More Than A Cut & Paste Compilation That’s Marketed As A Know-All BestSeller. Because Most Of The Times The Person On Whom The Biography Is Penned Is No Longer Around To Verify The White Lies Or Quash The Rumours That Have Evolved Into Myths And Folklores.
In Such Depressing Scenarios A Firsthand Autobiography By A Larger Than Life Yesteryear Star Of The Stature Of Asha Parekh No Less Told At An Almost Leisurely Pace To Her Autobiographer Khalid Mohamed Is Indeed Nothing Short Of A Dream Come True For Both Her Fans Who Get To Take A Walk Down Memory Lane..Reliving The Life & Times Of The Golden Girl Of Indian Cinema That Was The One & Only Asha Parekh.
For Those Movie Buffs Who Polished And Enriched Their Filmi Gyaan On Vintage Collector Magazines Of Yore This Autobiography Is An Absolutely Perfect Example Of A Perfect In-depth Read On A Star Who Is Not Just Refreshingly Honest But Also Has A Sense Of Humour To Allow Her Readers To Guffaw At Her Expense.
Full Credit Goes To The Yesteryear’s Matinee Star Asha Parekh & How She Successfully Evolved Into The Hit Girl With A Consistent Row Of Hits Almost Effortlessly.
Not Only Is This Autobiography Of Asha Parekh Akin To A Lotus In The Pond But What Makes It An Absolute Delight Is The Rare Insights That Actually Magnify The Persona Of The Larger Than Life Yesteryear’s Star Asha Parekh As She Reveals A Lot More About Herself Than Most Present Day Stars Would Gladly Like To Sweep Under The Carpet Or Bury In Their Closet.
A Major Chunk Of The Credit For This Autobiography Goes Solely To Khalid Mohamed Who Has Polished And Refined This True Gem Of An Elite Autobiographical Account Of A Yesteryear’s Star That Is The One & Only Asha Parekh.
In The End One Can Safely State That Asha Parekh -The Hit Girl Is Nothing Less Than A Barometer Of What A Genuine & Honest Autobiography Should Measure Upto. Afterall If You Are Not Ready To Face The Harsh Truth Along With The World Then It Is Pointless To Go In For A One Dimensional Autobiography That Refuses To Step Out Of The Comfort Zone Of I, Me & Myself And Rather Let Any Stranger Pen A Half Baked Unauthorised Biography That Can Always Be Denied Should It Cut Too Close To The Bone.
On A Farewell Note Getting Salman Khan To Write A Foreword For The Autobiography Of Asha Parekh Is Almost Akin To Showing The Sun A Candlelight Ray...Many Could Find It Akin To Rolling In Aisle With Boisterous Laughter Because Quite Frankly Would Prince Salim Khan Not Have Been More Apt To Do The Foreword Honour Rather Than His Superstar Son ‘Tiger’ Salman Khan? Fodder For Thought Anybody?!!!

[Subhash Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worth read autography of an accomplished artist.

Excellent coverage of life's journey of one of the most popular actresses, whose more than 60 years in Mumbai film industry. Her career has been really extraordinary and many awards a day accomplishments. Khalid Mohamed has done full justice to the content and the photographs make the book a collector's item. It is a breezy read with free and frank inputs from the protagonist.

[Nikhil Talwar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of Rare and excellent pics from Asha Parekh Life & Filmography, merged with superbly described Biography of 60's, 70's, 80's SUPERSTAR ASHA PAREKH. You can feel and live Indian Cinema of that time through this Biography.
Strongly Recommended to all Asha Parekh fans.

[Sanjeev Chhabra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and composed book by Khalid Mohammed.
Nice to look at a super star's life as any other with the same needs of work life balance.
Asha spends a lot of time defending controversies, so she clearly packs a punch in real life!
But this is one star who does not blow her trumpet.
The two most outstanding anecdotes are the one where she meets Nitin Gadkari, and another one where she laughs about the famous Assa jokes.
A recommended read, though I would advise the paper version. It wasn't very Kindle friendly.

[Meghana Godbole]

Nicely pictured

Kindle version is hard to read. The font is too small. But I liked the book. I like Asha Parekh Ma'am very much.