Despite being a durable face in the Bollywood of the sixties. Asha Parekh has had a long relationship with the small screen. She was the first actress from Mumbai to appear on television. That was when she was at the pinnacle of her acting career. When the curtains went up on Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra, on October 2, 1972, Asha Parekh was there performing Kathak with Gopi Krishna.

The impression that the mini screen made on her has lasted all these years. And naturally when her career as a leading lady to an end she once again turned to television. In the late seventies she produced and directed the immensely successful Jyoti. She followed it up with another Hindi serial Palaash Ke Phool. But her masterpiece to date remains the brilliant series on Indian classical dances in Hindi cinema, Baaje Payal.

In 1996 the yesteryear siren of Bollywood produced the classy comedy, Daal Mein Kaala,’ in which she succeeded in roping in big names of the teleworld like Farida Jalal, Navin Nischal, Reena Roy, Shammi, Renuka Shahane, Dilip Joshi and Vivek Vaswani.

Directed by cinematographer-turned-director Gyan Shahay and written by Vipul Shah [writer of Dekh Bhai Dekh’] the serial was a big hit as a family entertainer. The story revolved around two families — one comprising four brothers and the other three sisters. The serial was set in a restaurant, Son of India, owned by the bachelor brothers.

In 1998 Asha Parekh switched from comedy to serious family drama, when she produced Kora Kagaz which showcased the reactions of an emotionally brutalised woman whose husband walks out on her.

And now comes ‘Kangan’ which is all set to break a few records in the viewership ratings. It revolves around the story of a middle-aged man who is shattered when a young and vivacious woman rejects him. He falls head over heels in love with the girl and vows to marry her.

"It is love in the reverse gear. Everyone is waiting with baited breath to find out who wins and who loses in this game of hearts," says Asha Parekh about her highly rated serial.

It has been a remakable transformation for Parekh. Back in the sixties she was a big-time actress whose hit movies included Dil Deke Dekho, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Teesri Manzil and Kati Patang. She has played memorable roles with all-time popular stars like Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand, Joy Mukherjee and Rajesh Khanna.

Dance has been her first love and none of her films was complete without at least one dance scene featuring Asha Parekh. Quite rightly the Allahabad Sangeet Natak Academy bestowed upon her the title Nritya Shiromani.

In a career spanning both black and white and colour films, Asha Parekh acted in over 100 movies. She made a quiet exit but not before pocketing the 1972 Filmfare award for best actress in Kati Patang.’ In 1977 she made a one-film come back in the critically acclaimed Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki but that was the end of films for her.

Once she quit films, Parekh channelled her energy into setting up an academy, Kala Bhavan, to teach various dance forms. Today the Mumbai-based institution has over 250 students and does regular shows to raise funds for charity.

Asha Parekh is also involved in various activities like medical relief for adivasis and providing better facilities for schools for the blind. But more than that it is her work as the chairperson of the Film Censor Board and till recently the president of the Cine Artistes’ Association that have been taking up most of her time.

But her first love still remains TV serials. "Whether you are making a comedy or a family drama you derive immense professional satisfaction from television." Considering the high TRP ratings all her serials notched up, no one should be surprised at the former star’s infatuation with the small screen. (NF)