Veteran actress Asha Parekh to be conferred with Dada Saheb Phalke award

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2020 will go to Bollywood veteran actress Asha Parekh. It is the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema.

Veteran actress Asha Parekh has added another feather to her cap of achievements. She will now be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2020, informed Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur. For the unininitiated, this is the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema. The 79-year-old actress, best known for films such as Dil Deke Dekho, Kati Patang, Teesri Manzil, and Caravan, is considered one of the most influential actresses of all time in Hindi cinema.

Asha Parekh made her acting debut as an adult with Dil Deke Dekho in 1959 opposite Shammi Kapoor. She had initially started her career as a child artist with the name Baby Asha Parekh and featured in Maa (1952) and Baap Beti (1954). Her other notable films include Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Teesri Manzil and Do Badan (1966), Kati Patang (1970), Caravan (1971), and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) among others. In the 90s, Asha featured in fewer films. She was seen in Professor Ki Padosan and Bhagyawan (1993), Ghar Ki Izzat (1994) and Andolan (1995). After she quit acting, Asha became a television director with the Gujarati serial Jyoti.

Talking about not getting married, the 79-year-old icon had told Harper's Bazaar India recently, “I guess I was not destined to get married. Honestly, I would have loved to get married and have children, but it wasn’t meant to be. However, I have absolutely no regrets.”

Last year, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 was conferred to Rajinikanth. It is given in the memory of Dadasaheb Phalke, who is regarded as the ‘father of Indian cinema’