I Laugh At The Drop Of A Hat: Asha Parekh On Her 74th Birthday

On her 74th birthday, Asha Parekh gets candid about her life, movies, memories and being single.

Asha Parekh and Rajesh Khanna in a scene from Kati Patang.

On the saatvi manzil of a high rise bordered by the Juhu seafront, it’s afternoon as usual: a cold salad lunch, a couple of phone calls, a brief meeting with her secretary and then a quick nap maybe.

So there I am, feeling a bit of an intruder to quiz Asha Parekh on the eve of her 74th birthday, which is on 2nd October. Last month, she had to be rushed to hospital following a severe stomach pain.

Is she better now? Eyes alit, she pats her head and says, “Touchwood. I’m fit and fine. There seemed to be a stone in my gall bladder, the pain was unbearable. The sonography showed a stone but after the MRI scan, the stone had disappeared. I have to take it easy, but not too easy. By nature, I’ve always been peppy and energetic.”

On her birthday, the screen sweetheart of the 1960s, is pampered by her cousins and aunts. Three cakes are cut: two chocolate gateaux arrive on the dot of noon from an old film production hand Oyd Gomes, from her cousin Amina, and a childhood buddy Jini Dastur never forgets to visit, carrying a carrot cake.

At one time, there would be at least 50 to 60 bouquets, cramming her hallway from the film industry.

Now just 20-25 bouquets are delivered. But that’s natural. I’m not exactly in the buzz of things. Still it’s wonderful to be remembered by some at least, their flowers are a proof of a certain regard.

Asha Parekh

Can she recall the most unforgettable birthday gift?

Absolutely! Eight years ago, Saira Banu gave me a wrist-watch. It was a beauty. I told her I couldn’t possibly accept it, it must have been very expensive. But she shut me up, insisting that she would be hurt if I didn’t keep it.

Asha Parekh

Over the decades, the actress who was known to belt out silver and golden jubilees galore, has celebrated her birthday with an evening dinner. The parties would be attended by the who’s who of showbiz, right from her heroes of yore to newbies on the block.

I did enjoy hosting parties, not every year though. I hosted them on my 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays for my colleagues from the film industry (er..she avoids the term Bollywood). But who knows if I’ll be around for my 80th? When Nanda went away at the age of 72 it was such a shock. And Sadhana was just 73 when she left.

Asha Parekh

Shh, no dark thoughts please. To that she retorts,

At some point of our lives, we are confronted by the question of mortality. There are so many stress factors today: pollution, the food you eat, the amount of hours you put into exercising. Still I’m a happy person. I laugh at the drop of a hat. The silliest jokes and situations can make me double up with laughter. That’s quite a bad habit actually.

Asha Parekh

Erm, how come?

“Three years ago, Waheeda (Rehman), Helen and I had taken off for a holiday to Turkey,” she narrates. “ We went shopping to a mall when Helen vanished into thin air. We looked for her all over the place and screamed out loud, `Helen! Helen! Where are you?’ We paged her on the mall’s speakers. No Helen! And then suddenly we saw her sitting on the stairs, looking quite cool. Out of sheer relief, I had a laughing fit. Waheeda said sharply, ‘Asha, what’s so funny?’ She was right. Both of us had been so petrified and there I was seeing the funny side of things.”

Asha Parekh

Seriously, how does she look back on her vast oeuvre of films, a majority of which were box-officer blockbusters? Think Dil Deke Dekho, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Love in Tokyo, Teesri Manzil, and Kati Patang to just cite a micro-number. Right away she responds,

Asha Parekh working away at her hospital. (Photo courtesy: Khalid Mohamed)

I can’t believe that was me up there on the screen. I acted in so many films. I’d be doing double shifts which would often total up to 16 hours a day. With time I’ve become laid back. I sleep a lot, read a lot, watch TV. My sole commitment nowadays is to my hospital, which strives to serve the needy. It requires a lot of attention and upgrading. I’m proud of my ongoing attachment to the hospital since the last 50 years.

Asha Parekh

What’s her take on aaj ka movies?

My take is quite obvious. Technically we’ve made great leaps forward, but great leaps backward in content. It’s only once in a while that a story – the written material – grabs your attention like <i>Pink, Piku, Kahani, Neerja, Mary Kom</i> and <i>Bhaag Milkha Bhaag</i> did. There’s a trend towards biopics. How I wish I could have somehow acted in a biopic of the legendary dancer, Balasaraswati, when I was still active. I just hope the glut of biopics don’t become too much of a good thing. For instance, I was disappointed with <i>Azhar</i>. We have such a tremendous legacy of literature in various Indian languages. None of the top mainstream directors seem to be interested.

Asha Parekh

Asha Parekh has been hounded with this question for eons. Does she have any second thoughts about remaining single? A whooping laugh and then the answer,

Not at all. The very idea of a marriage is scary. So many marriages have disintegrated right before my eyes. The question – do you feel like a complete woman?– is only addressed to single women. I’d like to ask the bachelors of the world – do you feel like a complete man? This notion of being ‘complete’ or ‘incomplete’ is absurd.

Asha Parekh

Right said Asha.