Asha Parekh was born into a middle-class Gujarati family on 2 October 1942 in Mumbai, to a father (who was from Paldi near Pirana, Ahmedabad, Gujarat) and a Dawoodi Bohra Muslim mother.[2] Parekh's religious upbringing involved worshipping Sai Baba.[3][4] Her mother enrolled her in Indian classical dance classes at an early age and she learned from many teachers including Pandit Bansilal Bharati.