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Asha Parekh returns to her Gujarati roots
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, Feb 16 (IANS) Even at her prime 40 years ago, when she was branded the "Jubilee Queen", Asha worked in three feature films in her mother tongue.
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"And now I am returning to my Gujarati roots," Asha told IANS.
"The Gujarati serial 'Akhanda Saubhagyavati', which I have produced, is coming on ETV Gujarati. It is a proud moment for me. I have always felt my work and my art would keep me close to my roots."
"There is a myth that actors do regional films only when they are on the way up or way out. That is such a parochial attitude. Lata bai, who is our greatest singer, has sung in so many Indian languages. If Lata (Mangeshkar) can do it, why not Asha (Bhosle)?" she adds.
Remembering the three Gujarati films she acted in, Asha says: "My first Gujarati film, called 'Akhanda Saubhagyavati', was a smash hit. That was 40 years ago when I was really busy with my Hindi film career. Not once, did I think I was going to compromise my career by doing a film in my own language."
"Akhanda Saubhagyavati" is the third Gujarati serial produced by Asha Parekh.
"I had produced 'Jyoti' for Doordarshan, which was a kind of landmark for regional television. Then I did 'Nari Tu Na Hari' for ETV Gujarati...And now I am back with a new daily."
Asha neither directs nor acts in her new serial.
She is also going ahead with plans to make a Hindi serial, which will have an army background, for a major channel.
"But right now it's my Gujarati serial which excites me. Earlier, we made the mistake of undermining television as a medium. Today we are making the same mistake by undermining regional cinema and television.
"Look at the reach of Bhojpuri, Bengali and Tamil cinema. TV too has niche significance. There's room for programming in every genre and language. The sooner we realise it, the better."
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