Asha Parekh says a lot of heroes would ‘get frightened’ of her: ‘Everybody was scared of coming near me’

Asha Parekh has recalled that heroes, who would star opposite her, were more often than not frightened of her. Asha was known for her pairings with Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, and Rajesh Khanna among other actors at the peak of her career. Asha recently said that while heroes would become friends with her slowly, they would be initially very scared. Also Read| Asha Parekh on her Dadasaheb Phalke Award: ‘All my desires are now fulfilled’

Asha has previously also mentioned on several occasions that her reputation of being unapproachable even made people hesitate in asking for her hand in marriage. In a recent interview, she mentioned that her mother might be the reason behind this reputation.

She told Connect FM Canada about her mother Sudha aka Salma Parekh, “My mother was the main support, and the backbone of my life. She was everything to me. And being the only child, I was a little spoilt also.” Asked how her mother protected her in the film industry, the actor said, “My mother was a very strict mother. She never allowed anybody to come near me.”

Asha further recalled, “And I don’t know, everybody felt that there was something about me that nobody came near me. Darte the (they were scared). I am being very frank, there were quite a lot of heroes who would get frightened of me. I don’t know why they used to be frightened. After some time, when we would talk, we would become friends. But pehle to bahot darte the (initially they were very frightened of me). My parents kept me down to earth. They did not make me feel like I was a star.”

The veteran actor was recently honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema. She was presented the award by President Droupadi Murmu during the 68th National Film Awards ceremony in Delhi on Friday. The actor said she was grateful to receive the award a day before her 80th birthday.