Asha Parekh to be honoured with prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Earlier today, it was announced that veteran actress, Asha Parekh will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award—India's highest honour for cinematic achievements—for the year of 2020.

The news was announced by the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur via his official Twitter account.

"Honoured to announce that the Dadasaheb Phalke Selection Jury has decided to recognise and award Smt Asha Parekh ji for her exemplary lifetime contribution to Indian Cinema.  The Dadasaheb Phalke Award shall be presented by the Hon President of India in Vigyan Bhawan," read Thakur's tweet.

Asha Parekh, 79, is best known for Bollywood films like "Dil Deke Dekho", "Kati Patang", "Teesri Manzil" and "Caravan".

The iconic actress began her journey as a child artiste at the age of 10, with Bimal Roy's movie "Maa" (1952). Eventually, Asha Parekh took a break from acting to complete her education and returned as the lead actress in writer-director Nasir Hussain's Dil Deke Dekho (1959), opposite Shammi Kapoor.

Asha and Hussain went on to deliver multiple hits together—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).

Over the years, Asha Parekh's screen image transformed from a romantic heroine to an actress who could put forth serious and tragic performances, as seen in movies like "Do Badan" (1966), "Chirag" (1969), "Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki" (1978) and "Kati Patang".

The legendary actress also tried her hand at acting on television, setting up her own production house which directed the Gujarati serial, "Jyoti" (1990). She also produced shows like "Palash ke Phool", "Baaje Payal", "Kora Kagaz" and "Dal Mein Kaala".