Veteran actress Asha Parekh receives Dada Saheb Phalke award
New Delhi, Sep 30: Veteran actor Asha Parekh was on Friday honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema.
Parekh, 79, was presented the award by President Droupadi Murmu during the 68th National Film Awards ceremony, held at Vigyan Bhawan here.
The veteran said she is grateful to receive the prestigious award a day before her 80th birthday.
"It is a huge honour to have received the Dada Saheb Phalke award. It makes me very grateful that the recognition comes to me just one day before my 80th birthday.
"This is the best honour I could get from the Government of India. I would like to thank the jury for the recognition that they have bestowed upon me, my long journey and fulfilling the journey in the film industry," said Parekh, who is the recipient of the award for the year 2020.
Describing the Indian film industry as the "best place" to be in, the actor said she continues to be attached to the movies in her own small way even after 60 years.
"Our film industry is the best place to be in. And I would like to suggest to the youngsters who are in this industry to have perseverance, determination, discipline, and to be grounded, and I congratulate all the awardees tonight," she added.
The five-member Dada Saheb Phalke Award committee -- comprising Asha Bhosle, Hema Malini, Poonam Dhillon, Udit Narayan, and TS Nagabharana -- selected Parekh for the honour.
Parekh, whose stardom was at par with male contemporaries Rajesh Khanna, Rajendra Kumar and Manoj Kumar in the 1960s-1970s, started her acting career at the age of 10 with the 1952 film "Aasmaan".
In a career spanning over five decades, she starred in over 95 films that include titles such as "Dil Deke Dekho", "Kati Patang", "Teesri Manzil", "Baharon Ke Sapne", "Pyar Ka Mausam", and "Caravan".
She made foray into films as a child artist with 1952's "Aasmaan" and went on to star in Bimal Roy's "Baap Beti" two years later.
Parekh made her debut as a leading lady in Nasir Hussain's 1959 movie "Dil Deke Dekho", opposite Shammi Kapoor.
A director and producer as well, Parekh had helmed the acclaimed TV drama "Kora Kagaz" that aired in the late 1990s.
The screen legend was also the first female chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). She served from 1998-2001.
The actor came out with her autobiography, "The Hit Girl", co-written by film critic Khalid Mohamed, in 2017.
She was also honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the country, in 1992.
Last year, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 was conferred on Rajinikanth.
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Mamata urges electors to cast vote to take revenge for deletion of people's names from rolls
Samserganj (WB) (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday urged people to cast their votes to take revenge for the deletion of people's names from the electoral rolls.
The Trinamool Congress chief urged people whose names have been deleted from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to move appeals before the tribunal.
Addressing an election rally at Samserganj, which was the epicentre of violence during the protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Muslim-majority Murshidabad district in April 2025, she said, "Cast your votes to take revenge for deletion of people's names, and against the SIR so that the results reflect that."
Banerjee asked the TMC workers to remain vigilant till the counting date on May 4. Assembly polls in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29.
In an apparent reference to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Banerjee alleged that he was behind the deletion of voters' names in West Bengal during the SIR exercise.
"If you have the guts, fight directly," she said.
Asking all the TMC workers to remain vigilant during the election period, Banerjee said, "I hope none of our booth agents will sell themselves off to the BJP, in the interest of West Bengal."
Claiming that EVM machines will be made to malfunction at some places, the TMC chief instructed party workers not to allow EC officials to repair the machines and instead demand replacements.
Speaking at the rally in support of Mohammed Nur Alam in Samserganj and Mohammed Amirul Islam in Farakka, Banerjee accused the BJP of spreading canards against her that she did not do much for the interest of the Muslims, maintaining that she has fought hard against the implementation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
Murshidabad witnessed violence during the implementation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, leading to the death of some persons including a father-son duo who were hacked to death by a mob, with the BJP accusing the TMC of engineering violent agitations in various parts of the district.
Claiming that development work has stalled owing to the assembly polls, she said, "They (EC) have transferred nearly 500 officers, but this is only for a month; work will begin again after that."
The chief minister accused the EC of "deleting names of some, while intimidating some others", in the name of SIR of electoral rolls.
Banerjee asked why the assembly polls could not be conducted with the same electoral rolls used in the 2024 general elections.
"If the voter list contained names of infiltrators, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister also won with their votes earlier, so they should have resigned first," she said.
Claiming that she and her party will never allow the establishment of detention camps in the name of NRC, Banerjee said, "That is why you are being vengeful against me."
She sought to remind that the Election Commission's authority over the state's administration is till completion of the election process.
The chief minister asked why several senior officers of her government, who were earlier replaced from their positions by the EC, were being sent to the assembly poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
Banerjee alleged that officers who are relatives of BJP leaders have been deputed in West Bengal.
She claimed that during the TMC rule, youths from among the minority community and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes got better education opportunities and made it to the IAS, IPS and WBPS cadre and also became doctors and engineers.
"The society is advancing, but the jealous BJP people cannot stand this," the TMC chief said.
Banerjee assured people that women will receive lifelong financial benefits under Lakshmir Bhandar scheme if the TMC returns to power for a fourth consecutive term.
"We will find livelihood opportunities for those registered under Banglar Yuba Sathi," she said about the newly launched scheme to provide monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 each to the jobless youths in the state.
