KASAULI LIT FEST: ‘HIT GIRL’ ASHA PAREKH CHARMS THE LITERATI WITH HER FRANKNESS
KASAULI: Asha Parekh, the glamour queen of the Sixties and Seventies, wowed the audiences with her candid charm at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival on Saturday.
She said with grace :“The only man I ever loved was my mentor Nasir Hussain, but it ended because I was not cut out tobe the other woman.”
Her book ‘The Hit Girl’, written with cine-writer Khalid Mohammed, has been received with much for its sheer sincerity, as the actor says, “Why write an autobiography if you wish to hide your life?”
The story of how the book was written is interesting. Khalid says, in his obituary to Sadhana three years ago in the ‘Mumbai Mirror,’ he had mentioned that Sad han a, Ash a Parekh and Saira Ban oh ad ruled the Six ties, giving a new bouffant persona to the Hindi film heroines.
Khalid recalls, “I had been in touch with Asha Parekh, but after reading the obit, she called me. We talked and I asked her why had she not written her autobiography ?” Asha’s straightforward reply was ,“No one has asked me !” Khalid’ s reply was ,“I am asking you now.”
The book that was launched in mid-May has been the centre of many events all over the country and New York. Khalid says that there is nothing complicated about the star, with an ar dent fan following still, and he had no difficulty in working with her.
“Just look at her face and it is just as innocent as it was when she made a grand debut at 17 in ‘Dil Deke Dekho’,” he says.
There was no looking back for Ash a after she came as the impish Nita in capri trousers and collared shirt leading a band of trendily clad girls singing to Shammi Kapoor ‘chacha,’ as she calls him, ‘Meri jaan wah wah wah.’
It was the beginning of a long association with director Nasir Hussain. Together they gave super hits like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), ‘Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon’(1963), ‘Teesri Manzil’ (1966), ‘Pyar ka Mausan’ (1969), ‘Caravan’ (1971) and an offbeat film ‘Baharon Ke Sapne’ (1967).
This child, of a Hindu Gujarati father and a Bohra Muslim mother, she moves on in life trying to revive a charitable hospitable that she has set up long ago, telling her story and meeting friends like Waheeda Rehman and Helen.
“It is her goodwill in the film industry that who’s who was present at her book launch in Delhi. From Waheeda Rehman, Dharmendra and Helen of her times to younger actors like Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.”
In less than six months, the book has gone into its second edition. Asha Parekh says, “I am grateful to everyone in the film industry and my fans who supported me and kept showing interest in my work and life.”