Parveen Babi

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Parveen Babi

Parveen Babi in the 1970s
Born April 4, 1949 (1949-04-04)
Junagadh
Died January 20, 2005 (aged 55)
Mumbai
Occupation Actress

Parveen Babi (Hindi: परवीन बाबी, Urdu: پروین بابی) (April 4, 1949 - January 20, 2005) was an Indian actress.

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[edit] Early life

She was born in Junagadh and did her early schooling in Aurangabad and later attended St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. Her father Vali Mohammed Babi, a Gujarati Muslim, was an administrator with the Nawab of Junagadh. Babi was born fourteen years after the marriage of her parents and was the only child.

[edit] Career

Parveen was considered to be one of the most successful Bollywood actresses in the 1970s and was known for her portrayal of iconoclastic women who did not care about the conventional norms of society. She was the first Indian actress to have been featured on TIME magazine's cover, in 1975. In her most successful films, she was paired opposite Amitabh Bachchan, who was one of the biggest stars of the decade, in cinematic blockbusters like Deewaar (1975) Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Shaan (1980), Kaalia (1981), and Khud-daar (1982).

She was often compared with her contemporary Zeenat Aman due to their common image of being sex-symbols. In fact, she acted alongside Aman in Mahaan (1983) and Ashanti (1981) (inspired by the American television show Charlie's Angels, with the third role played by Shabana Azmi). [1] In films like Deewar (1975), Shaan (1980) and Namak Halaal (1982) her screen presence may have been minimal (the films largely working around the hero) but Babi brought a certain attractive aloofness to the roles and songs she appeared in. In Manoj Kumar's big hit Kranti (1981), she stole scenes with her supporting role from Hema Malini, the heroine of the film. Babi also acted in offbeat films like Vinod Pandey's Yeh Nazdeekiyan (1982).

Her success did not run into the mid-eighties as she had left the film industry to move to New York in 1983. Many of her completed films released in the following years right uptill her last film releasing in 1988. in New York she became associated with the spiritual philosopher U. G. Krishnamurti. She returned to Mumbai in 1992 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. [2] Parveen had developed a persecution complex possibly stemming from other undiagnosed physiological factors.

[edit] Personal life

It is speculated that Parveen Babi suffered from schizophrenia and had become a recluse. It also probable that she was not schizophrenic but had a persecution complex and withdrew from society and films. However, she managed to maintain her posh penthouse apartment in Mumbai and live affluently from sound financial investments. She was diabetic for most of her life. Parveen did not marry but shared intimate relationships with married men: director Mahesh Bhatt, actors Kabir Bedi, and Danny Denzongpa. Parveen was also rumoured to have a relationship with her co-star Amitabh Bachchan. Mahesh Bhatt made Arth (1982), a semi-autobiographical film about his extramarital relationship with Babi, and Woh Lamhe (2006) based on actual facts about his relationship with her. She was found dead from the complications of her untreated diabetes. When she was found dead, one of her feet had gangrene on it. Parveen most possibly died in her sleep of complications as foul play and suicide were ruled out.

[edit] Death

She was found dead in her Mumbai apartment on January 20, 2005 after her residential society secretary complained to the police that she had not collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for two days.She was found to have gangrene of the foot as a complication of her diabetic condition. The police ruled out any foul play. She was buried next to her mother at Santa Cruz, in Mumbai on January 23, after her funeral was held according to Islamic rites.

[edit] Filmography



Landmark Films : Source [3]
Year Film Costars
1974 Majboor Amitabh Bachchan
1975 Deewar Amitabh Bachchan
1977 Amar Akbar Anthony Amitabh Bachchan
1979 Suhaag Shashi Kapoor
1981 Kaalia Amitabh Bachchan
1981 Meri Awaaz Suno Jeetendra
1982 Namak Halal Shashi Kapoor
1982 Ashanti Mithun Chakraborthy
1982 Khuddar Amitabh Bachchan
1983 Rang Birangi Amol Palekar

[edit] External links