Dada Sahib Phalke Award 2020 went to famous actress Asha Parekh. The award was given considering the comprehensive contribution made to Indian cinema. Asha Parekh is one of the leading heroines of Hindi cinema in the sixties and seventies. Asha is also the highest paid actress of the sixties.
An old interview of her went viral right after she won the Falke award. In it, the actress reveals the reason why she did not get married. She said that she was serious about marriage and it was never meant to be a cohabitation. But Asha also said in an interview given to Verve Magazine in 2019 that some experiences are the reason for rejecting marriage.
‘The experience of trying to go out with the boys my mother found has taken me away from my marriage. They take longer to prepare than I do. Most of them were quarrelsome and selfish. And the experience of my film heroes has also deterred me from marriage. Colleagues like Rajesh Khanna and Vinod Khanna have been seen fighting with their wives. After the shoot, at night and so on, these fights are for roaming around without going back home. I didn’t like anyone controlling me like this’ says Asha.
She also said that she once came close to marriage. ‘I once came close to marrying a professor from the US. I went to visit him once. When we were in a cafe at 2 in the morning, he turned to me and said. I have a girlfriend. You are now between us. I was surprised by this nonchalant talk. That was my last attempt at marriage’ says Asha.
She started her career as a child actress as Baby Asha Parekh. Acted in Maa (1952) and Baap Beti (1954) as a child. In 1959, she made her debut as a female lead opposite Shammi Kapoor in Dil Deke Dekho. Asha starred in several hit films such as Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Mansil, Do Badan (1966) and Baharon Ke Sapne (1967).