Asha Parekh will be given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2020, Union I & B minister Anurag Thakur announced on September 27. She will receive the award from President Droupadi Murmu at the 68th National Film Awards presentation ceremony on September 30.
A five-member jury consisting of Asha Bhosle, Hema Malini, Poonam Dhillon, Udit Narayan and T.S. Nagabharana recommended the veteran actress’ name for the honour.
Asha Parekh, whose career spans almost 50 years, is only the seventh female actor to be honoured with the top award. She started as a child artiste in Aasmaan (1952). Besides acting in a number of films, she also produced and directed TV serial Kora Kagaz in the late 1990s. She was also the first woman to head the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). She was its chairperson from 1998 to 2001.
Asha Parekh was conferred the Padma Shri in 1992.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award’s first recipient was Devika Rani.