First brought in by The ANI,  Union Minister and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur announced today(Tuesday), 27 September 2022 that Bollywood veteran and yesteryear actress Asha Parekh is to be bestowed upon with the honour of receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke award, 2022.

Regarded as one of the most influential and over actors back in her time and still commanding ample recognition for her work over the years, Asha Parekh is in every sense of the word a ‘giant’ who has left her indelible mark in the history of Indian cinema. As such there’s little to no challenging the decision of her being a worthy recipient of the award and whatever doubt, can easily be dealt with by just one look at her illustrious career that has spanned decades.

Parekh started her career as a child actor and was first cast by filmmaker Bimal Roy in Maa (1952) when she was just  10. After a brief break to continue her studies, she  returned as the lead actress in Dil Deke Dekho (1959), alongside Superstar Shammi Kapoor. Once that happened and there was no turning back, over the years Ms. Parekh became one of the top Bolly girls of the last century with films like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil (1966), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), and Caravan (1971) among others. During the sunset; final years of her active career she transitioned to regional and non-Hindi cinema working in a series of Gujarati, Punjabi and Kannada films. Even after retiring from playing the part in front of the camera she didn’t stop, instead she changed her position to behind it. Asha Parekh launched her own production house Akruti, she directed The Gujarati serial Jyoti (1990) and produced shows such as Palash ke Phool, Baaje Payal, Kora Kagaz and Dal Mein Kaala.

In the world of Indian Cinema The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the absolute pinnacle in terms of honour and recognition power it gives away, and it is with absolute certainty an award that must be ‘earned’. Over the years many notable personalities have added to the award’s splendour, a list that includes Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra, Lata Mangeshkar, Mrinal Sen, Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna. The name Asha Parekh doesn’t feel out of place among these goliaths in the slightest, an actor’s greatest desire is to be recognized  for their work and for Asha this certainly is the achievement of her lifetime.