NEW DELHI: Having ruled the silver screen for around two decades as the quintessential girl-next-door in a series of hits, veteran actress Asha Parekh today rues the fact that Hindi films have lost touch with Indian culture.
The 74-year-old yesteryear star of hits like “Kati Patang”, “Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke” and “Caravan” says even the songs and dance sequences lack the cultural influence unlike the films of the past.
“Technically, we have become superior and can compete with any Hollywood film. But the only sad part is that we have become too westernised. Hindi films have lost touch with the Indian culture. Even Bollywood dance sequences lack the impression of our Indian dances. It is dying, which is disheartening. “The music and the lyrics today are so different. There are some songs which are nice, but the rest of the music is not something which will be memorable,” Parekh told PTI. The actress says she does not like the concept of remixes but is fine with remakes, provided they are done tastefully. “I don’t like the whole culture of remixes. My song ‘Kanta Laga’ was ruined. I don’t like this at all. But I am fine with remakes if they are nicely made.” Parekh, who enjoyed stardom in the ’60s and ’70s is all praise for today’s generation of actors, who are willing to take risks. “I give full credit to actors today for choosing tough roles. They work really hard and it is commendable how they deal with the paparazzi. I can’t imagine myself doing all this and dealing with the social media and tabloid culture,” she says. The actress may have been involved with organisations working for the industry insiders, but she has no plans to get back into films. “I have always been involved with lot of things related to the film industry but I don’t want to make films. I want an easy life. I am involved with a lot of social work. I have worked too hard and now is the time to enjoy,” she says. Parekh, recently launched her autobiography “The Hit Girl”, and the actress says it was not difficult for her to share her life story with the world. “Opening up was not difficult. But certain memories were painful and I never talked about them. In this book, the good and the bad come together. “I wanted people to know more about me as they thought I am just a good actress. There is much more to me than being an actress.” The book is penned by journalist-writer Khalid Mohamed and superstar Salman Khan has written the foreword while another superstar, Aamir Khan, launched the book in Delhi.–PTI
