Salman Khan launches the Latest Hit Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl An Autobiography with Khalid Mohamed

Salman Khan launches the Latest Hit

Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl

An Autobiography with Khalid Mohamed

Published by

Om Books International

AtTaj Lands End, Mumbai

Om Books International along with Taj Lands End, Mumbai,celebrated the launch ofAsha Parekh: The Hit Girl, An Autobiography with Khalid Mohamed, on 10^thApril 2017. The stunningly produced autobiography was launched by Chief Guest and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who has written the Foreword to the book.

Present on the occasion were two of Asha Parekh’s closest friend from the industry--Waheeda Rehman and Helen, and some of her finest co-actors and heroes—Dharmendra, Jeetendra. Among those present to grace the occasion were Imran Khan, Richa Chadha, Jackie Shroff, Aruna Irani along with Anandji(Kalyanji-Anandji) & Pyarelalji(Laxmikant-Pyarelal)

An interesting discussion on the book with Chief Guest Salman Khan, co-authors Asha Parekh and Khalid Mohamed, and Publisher, Ajay Mago, was moderated by Dipa Chaudhuri, Chief Editor, Om Books International.

About the book

Asha Parekh, an alumnus of Bombay’s The J.B. Petit Girls’ High School,devoted after-school hours to learning classical dance from exacting gurus.Given a break as a leading lady by Filmalaya Studio’s Sashadhar Mukherjee, shedebuted opposite Shammi Kapoor in the entertainer Dil Deke Dekho (1959). Instantly, the audience and the critics agreed, “A star is born.”Followed a concatenation of silver and golden jubilee hits, which established heras the quintessential Hit Girl.

Her innumerable dance ballets on stage have earned her immense acclaim, athome and overseas.Among her other facets, she has been involved since decades in running acharitable hospital.She was Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (1998-2001)and has been associated with the Cine and TV Artistes’ Associations and otherorganisations dedicated to the welfare of film industry workers, technicians andactors.She turned producer and director with several top TRP-rated TV serials likeKora Kagaz and Palash kePhool.Currently she has chosen to retire from acting, but adds, “Never say never.”She lives by the famed Juhu shoreline in Mumbai.

About the co-author

Khalid Mohamed, co-author

During his stint as film critic and media editor of The Times of India, andFilmfare editor, Khalid Mohamed would frequently interview Asha Parekh,queen of the marquee who had captured the public imagination right fromthe black-and-white movies to the colourful holiday-mood entertainers.A single question, “So why haven’t you attempted an autobiography yet?”led to Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl packed with rare pictures, memorabiliaand candid speak.

Ajay Mago, Publisher, Om Books International:When Khalid Mohamed discussed this autobiography with me, I simply said I do without blinking an eyelid. Asha Parekh’s contribution to Bollywood, and therefore to a significant part of India’s cultural history, remains undisputed. As the reigning queen of Bollywood for nearly two decades, she brought grace, charm, wit, humour, gravitas and pure entertainment to our lives through her string of hits. Need I add that it is an honour for me that the runaway girl of Caravan gave Om Books International another runaway success: Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl, An Autobiography with Khalid Mohamed.

Khalid Mohamed, co-author: The 1960s dominated by vibgyor entertainers — breezy romances often located in hilltowns — has been a special yet underrated decade of Hindi cinema. Growing up in that decade also meant growing up on the gamine charm and élan of Asha Parekh. Hence The Hit Girl was a god-sent opportunity to look back at that era with affection and belated appreciation. I lucked out that Asha Parekh agreed to the book without any procrastinations and allowed me to trace her many-splendoured journey through the wonderworld of cinema. Moreover, there were many little-known aspects of her personality and stardom to discover on the way. In sum, it's been a thoroughly satisfying experience to collaborate on the autobiography of a fine lady and an artiste.

Mr. Parveen Chander, General Manager, Taj Lands End, Mumbai: We feel extremely honoured to be given the opportunity to host the book launch of Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl, An Autobiography with Khalid Mohamed.  On behalf of my entire team at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, I would like to wish Ms. Parekh all the very best for this new development and continued success for all her future endeavours.

Ravish Kapoor, Innovative Invitations: It is such an honour to curate the invitation card for the launch of Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl. I grew up watching her movies. She is not only Loved in Tokyo but all over India for her classic portrayals in Bollywood.

Name, Designation,Brown Forman India

About Om Books International

One of the largest English language trade publishers in the Indian subcontinent, Om Books International has been a name to reckon with for over five decades in the Indian publishing and retail industry. Headquartered in Noida, OBI has a diverse publishing list including cinema, biography, memoir, mind-body-spirit, photo essay, art, architecture, lifestyle, fiction — commercial and literary.It counts amongst its notable authors Khalid Mohamed, MushtaqShiekh, Bharathi S Pradhan, NasreenMunniKabir, Rauf Ahmed, Kamala Das, William Dalrymple, Vir Sanghvi, Christopher C Doyle, Abhay Vaidya and SuhailMathur.

Om Books International has a stellar line-up of Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winners: Vikas Khanna,Maria Goretti, Michael Swamy, Shazia Khan, Aditya Mehendale andSaranshGoila.

OBI has an equally strong and varied children's publishing programme under its imprint, OmKidz.