Sensational, stylish, beautiful…. such are the adjectives used to describe one of the versatile actresses of Indian cinema. She is none other than the veteran actress ‘Parveen Babi‘. Parveen was extremely famous for her long silky hair complementing the glam image she often potrayed.
Early life
Parveen Babi was born as Parveen Wali Mohammad Khan Babi to a Gujarati Muslim family on April 4, 1949 in Junagadh. She happened to be the only child of her parents and was born fourteen years after her parents were married. Her father Vali Mohammed Babi,was an administrator with the Nawab of Junagadh. She did her early schooling in Aurangabad and later attended St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai.
Career
Parveen Babi made her debut in bollywood in the year 1973 with the film titled Charitra. In 13 years of her career she acted with almost all the famous actors and directors of the decade. Some of her hit films include Majboor, Amar Akbar Anthony ,Deewar, Kala Patter, Kranti, Kalia. Although these films featured issues surrounding the male dominant society, Parveen made her presence felt and often got appreciation. She shared a great bonding with Amitabh Bachchan and they together gave huge hits.
Parveen and Zeenat Aman were strong competitors and they were often compared due to their western outlook. She was the heartthrob of millions of Indian audience. She was the first Indian actress to have featured on TIME magazine’s cover, in 1975.
Controversies
Like many other stars she was also encircled in many controversies. She had accused many foreign dignitaries and her former co-star, Amitabh Bachchan, of conspiring to kill her, but her petition in court was dismissed for lack of evidence. She also filed an affidavit in the special court hearing the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, claiming that she had evidence to show, but she did not turn up in court after being summoned saying that she was afraid of being killed.
Parveen was unmarried but her affairs with director Mahesh Bhatt and actors Kabir Bedi and Danny Denzongpa was very much in news in those days. She even ran away to Italy with Kabir Bedi. She was too outspoken and openly talked about drugs; she even openly advocated her free love. Mahesh Bhatt has a strong bond with her and prompted him to make films like Arth (1982) and Woh Lamhe (2006) a semi-autobiographical film on his relationship with Babi.
Parveen Babi has lit up the silver screen with her charming looks and personality since 1970s. But after her last film Aakarshan (1988), she had completely vanished from the silver screen in the mid- eighties. She left for New York in 1983.There she associated with spiritual philosopher U.G Krishnamurti.In 2002 she returned to Mumbai,where she was unrecognizable as her former self after having put on a considerable amount of weight. She accused many foreign dignitaries and her former co-star, Amitabh Bachchan, of conspiring to kill her but her petition in court was dismissed for lack of evidence. She also filed an affidavit in the special court hearing the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, claiming that she had evidence to show, but she did not turn up in court after being summoned saying that she was afraid of being killed.In spite of much name and fame, her life was not an easy one. She lost her parents pretty early. In the last days of her life she suffered from schizophrenia and became a recluse. She withdrew from the public life as her mental illness took over her life. She converted to Christianity towards the end of her life. She was found dead in her Mumbai apartment on January 22, 2005 after her residential society secretary complained to the police that she had not collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for the past two days. The police ruled out any foul play. She was buried next to her mother at Santa Cruz in Mumbai on January 23.
Unfortunately, she died alone, forgotten by those worked with her in her heydays. She was a star who had the whole industry go gaga when alive but died a sad and isolated death…unloved, unappreciated and forgotten!
[...] The Agony and Ecstasy of Parveen Babi (more…) [...]
What a pity such a beautiful woman to die in this way.
May her soul rest in peace.
such a talented actress..its indeed a pity..tht she died in solitude..