Asha Parekh says Bollywood is trying to copy western dance: ‘Doing aerobics not dancing, dil se bura lagta hain…’

Veteran actor Asha Parekh who is also a trained classical dancer, said in a new interview that Bollywood no more depicts Indian culture, especially in terms of dance. While she feels people have forgotten their Indian roots nowadays, she called filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali an exception. She also shared her displeasure with remixes of her songs. Also read: Asha Parekh says a lot of heroes would ‘get frightened’ of her

Asha Parekh made her acting debut when she was just 10 in the film Aasmaan. She rose to fame when she starred opposite Shammi Kapoor in the 1959 movie Dil Deke Dekho and went on to star in over 95 films during her career spanning over 50 years. Some of her best films include Caravan, Kati Patang, Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne and Pyar Ka Mausam.

During an event in Boston, Asha Parekh told Connect FM Canada in Hindi, “We have forgotten our own dance traditions, and we’re trying to copy Western dance. I think you will agree when I say this, but the kind of dance that we’re seeing these days, this is not our style. This is not our culture. And we have such a rich tradition of dance, every state has a dance of its own. And what are we doing? We’re trying to copy Western dance styles. Sometimes it feels like we’re doing aerobics, we’re not dancing. It hurts my heart to see this.”

“Sanjay Leela Bhansali is an exception. He’s bound by it, you see. You can see the respect for Indian culture in his work,” she added. She also said that remixes of her songs are “awful.” “The sweetness of the original songs are drowned out by loud drums and beats in the remixes. The words are lost,” she reasoned why doesn’t favour new film songs.

She recently received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema. After receiving the award, she shared her feelings with the news agency ANI. “The time when this award has come… it feels great. It feels as if all my desires are now fulfilled… Initially when they (the government) told me I will be receiving this award, I could not believe that I am getting it.”