When Asha Parekh hid in her car after ‘creepy’ Chinese fan stalked her, told neighbours: ‘I’ve come to marry her’

Actor Asha Parekh had once spoken about how she had to hide in her car while passing the gate of her residence after a ‘creepy’ fan stationed himself there. In an old interview in 2017, Asha had said that when the neighbours asked him to leave, he threatened them with a knife. He had said that he was there to marry Asha. Even after she got him arrested, she received a letter from him. (Also Read | When Asha Parekh’s outfit inspired Hrithik Roshan’s grandfather to ma)

Asha Parekh worked in several movies such as Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil, and Do Badan (1966), and Baharon Ke Sapne (1967). She made her debut opposite Shammi Kapoor with Dil Deke Dekho in 1959.

In an old interview with Filmfare, Asha had said, “I used to get fan mail by the gunny bags. There was this Chinese fellow, who had plonked himself near my gate and just wouldn’t go. He kept tabs on when I came, when I left. Naturally, I started getting scared. So I’d dunk in when my car entered the gate. When the neighbours asked him to go, he brandished his knife saying, ‘I’ll kill you! I’ve come to marry her’. I called up the police commissioner. They put him in Arthur Road Jail. From there, he wrote a letter asking me to bail him out. It was creepy.”

Asha, who never married, spoke about the love of her life, “Nasir saab (filmmaker Nasir Hussain) was the only man I ever loved. I was enamoured by him. I loved him. But it was not meant to be. Love in those days was hidden. There was a pardah (veil). Sachai thi, depth thi (There was truth and depth). But today there’s no therav (calm). Today we have become so practical, that we have lost out on emotion.”

Asha started her career as a child artist taking the name, Baby Asha Parekh. She starred in Maa (1952) and Baap Beti (1954). In 2008, she was a judge on the reality show Tyohaar Dhamaaka on 9X. She also has her dance academy Kara Bhavan.