Parveen Babi

Parveen Sultana Wali Mohammad Khanji Babi (pronounced [ˈpəɾʋin ˈbɑbi]; 4 April 1954 – 20 January 2005) was an Indian actress and model, who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of the greatest and most highest-paid actresses of the 1970s and the 1980s, she appeared in 70 films and was the first Bollywood star, to appear on the cover of Time magazine. She was known for her glamorous acting style, her modelling and fashion, and was often cited in the media as a sex symbol.
Babi was born in 1954, into the Babi Dynasty. She pursued her education at St. Xavier's College and began her modeling career in 1971. Two years later, she made her acting debut in the film Charitra in 1973. She first gained popularity in the mid-1970s, with roles in movies like Majboor and Deewaar. Over the following years, she appeared in several of the highest-grossing Indian films, including Kaala Sona, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Kaala Patthar, Shaan, Kranti, Kaalia and Namak Halaal. The film Irada released in 1991, marked her final film appearance, before she retired.
Babi's personal life received much attention. She remained unmarried after a string of relationships with Danny Denzongpa, Kabir Bedi and Mahesh Bhatt. She was believed to have been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, which came to the attention of the public, following various incidents. On 20 January 2005, she died at the age of 50, in her apartment in Mumbai. An autopsy stated that she died from organ failure and diabetes.
Parveen Sultana Wali Mohammad Khanji Babi was born on 4 April 1954, in Junagadh in the Saurashtra State of the Republic of India (now in Gujarat) to a noble family, in the Babi dynasty. Born 14 years after her parents' marriage, she was an only child. Her father was Vali Mohammed Khan Babi, an administrator of Junagadh State and a relative of Muhammad Mahabat Khan III. Her mother was Jamal Bakhte Babi (d. 2001) from Amreli. They belonged to the Babi tribe of Gujarati Pathans. Her father passed away from cancer, when she was 10 years old. She lived in a haveli with 54 rooms.
She attended St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. As a native speaker of Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu, Babi self-taught herself English during college. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology and a Master of Arts in English.
Babi's modelling career began in 1971, when she was recruited by Jeannie Naoroji, for a fashion show at Calico Dome. In 1972, B. R. Ishara having taken notice of Babi, and who was looking over the shooting of his film, Ek Nao Do Kinare (1973) in Ahmedabad, offered her a role in a film, but he forgot to contact her. Following this, Mamta Sahu, a model working for Naoroji and the daughter of director Kishore Sahu, took notice of Babi's potential and recommended her to her father, who was searching for a new face to cast in his film Dhuen Ki Lakeer (1974). Unknown to Sahu, Ishara announced that Babi would make her debut in his film Charitra (1973), opposite cricketer Salim Durrani. Ultimately, Sahu and Ishara reached an agreement, allowing Babi to begin shooting with Sahu, who hired Roshan Taneja to teach her the basics of acting. Babi relocated to Bombay and lived with Sahu and his family while shooting. The two films, released six months apart, performed poorly at the box office.
In Charitra, Babi played Shikha, a college student who is pressured into a sexual relationship with her father's creditor to alleviate her family's financial struggles. Critics praised her; The Illustrated Weekly of India described her as "[having] talent" and Free Press Journal said her "debut is promising." In Ravi Tandon's Majboor (1974), Babi garnered recognition for her role as Neela Rajvansh, marking the beginning of her many collaborations with actor Amitabh Bachchan.
Babi had her breakthrough with her portrayal of Anita, a prostitute, in the action crime film Deewaar (1975), which emerged as one of the year's highest-grossing films in Hindi cinema. Her character was noted for engaging in premarital sex and drinking alcohol, defying societal norms for Indian woman, and helped establish Babi's westernised image. In 1976, she starred opposite Dev Anand in Bullet, opposite Randhir Kapoor in Bhanwar, Mama Bhanja and Mazdoor Zindabaad as well as Rishi Kapoor in Rangila Ratan, but these films were unsuccessful. Yash Chopra had cast Babi in Kabhi Kabhie (1976) as Pinky Kapoor, opposite Rishi Kapoor, but she was replaced by Neetu Singh, as Chopra felt she would not look suitable alongside Kapoor.
Babi appeared in numerous successful films throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s. Notably, she played the leading lady, Jenny, opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and portrayed Anu, opposite Shashi Kapoor in Suhaag (1979). Both films were the highest-grossing releases in India of their respective years. Her box-office success continued with Kaala Patthar (1979) and Namak Halaal (1982) opposite Kapoor, Kaala Sona (1975) opposite Feroz Khan, Chandi Sona (1977) opposite Sanjay Khan, and Jaani Dost (1983) opposite Dharmendra. She was one of the highest-paid actresses at the time, Babi was earning approximately ₹2 to ₹3 lakh per film during that period.
With her then boyfriend, Kabir Bedi, working in European cinema, Babi aspired to do the same, and she was cast in the Italian film La tigre è ancora viva: Sandokan alla riscossa! (1977) alongside Bedi, but she decided to quit the film after their breakup. Chopra also considered Babi and Smita Patil for Silsila (1981), but they were ultimately replaced by Rekha and Jaya Bachchan, respectively. While Chopra stated that Babi took the news well, Ranjeet claimed, inside, she was deeply upset by the decision.
In 1982, Babi appeared in offbeat films Dil... Akhir Dil Hai, opposite Naseeruddin Shah and the erotic drama Yeh Nazdeekiyan, opposite debutant Marc Zuber. In Yeh Nazdeekiyan, she played a supermodel with whom Zuber has an affair. Due to the film's low budget, director Vinod Pande could only afford to pay her ₹1 lakh. Aroon Purie of India Today criticised Babi's performance, remarking that her "acting repertoire in the film ranges from opening her mouth to show happiness and licking her upper lip suggestively to show ecstasy".
Babi's career peaked at the time when most heroines were engulfed in Indian attributes, and Babi was one among the few actresses whose attire was completely westernised, and this provided her a certain latitude many other contemporary female artists were denied in India's heavily male-dominated and misogynistic cinematic fiefdom. Due to this, it was difficult for Bollywood producers to offer her roles as a traditional woman. Due to their similar appearance, she was often compared to her contemporary Zeenat Aman, even earning the label 'poor man's Zeenat'. She shared the screen with Aman in Mahaan (1983) and Ashanti (1982)—the latter inspired by the American television series Charlie's Angels, with Shabana Azmi completing the trio.
Aside from acting, Babi also worked as a model in her career. She generally would appear on the front page of every film magazine, including Filmfare, The Stardust and Bombay Dyeing. She was also the first Bollywood actress to appear on the front page of Time magazine in July 1976, for which she made history; the cover has since become iconic.
Babi later "disappeared" from the film scene in 1983, not informing anybody about her whereabouts, which caused exaggerated rumours and pompous claims, that she might have been "under the control" of figures in the "underworld". Many of her completed films were released during the following years, right up until her last film Irada, in 1991. She started a career as an interior decorator in 1983. After leaving the film industry in 1983, she took up music, piano, painting, architecture, literature, writing, cultural and archaeological study, politics, photography, sculpture, and human-rights issues. She also contributed to newspapers and magazines, from 1971 to 1992. She lived in a penthouse apartment in Mumbai, living affluently from sound financial investments.
Born into a Muslim family, Babi was influenced by several religions growing up, including Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. She often questioned certain religious norms, such as eating pork, and believed that morality and kindness were more important than adherence to dogma. She converted to Christianity in 1997 and was baptised at the All Saints' Church in Malabar Hill.
In 1969, Babi became engaged to her distant cousin from Pakistan, Jamil Khan, before the engagement was ended by her mother, during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, devastating her. In 1972, Babi dated Neville Damania, the bassist of the band Purple Flowers, until she relocated to Bombay to pursue a career in the film industry. From 1972 to 1976, she was in a relationship with actor Danny Denzongpa and they lived together, during that time. After their breakup, Denzongpa remained one of Babi's confidants, but they had a falling out in the early 1980s, because Babi accused him of being Amitabh Bachchan's spy.
In September 1975, Babi started dating Kabir Bedi, who was in the midst of an open relationship with his wife, Protima Bedi, at the time. After learning about Babi and Bedi's relationship, Protima and Kabir agreed to divorce, allowing Kabir to date Babi exclusively. In 1976, following the success of his television series Sandokan (1976), Babi accompanied Bedi to Italy and Spain and to Yugoslavia in 1977. They split later in 1977.
Also during the same year, film director Mahesh Bhatt, who was already married to Lorraine Bright, began an affair with Babi. When the media began to speculate, Babi denied a relationship between them. Six months into the relationship, Bhatt told Bright about the affair.
During Babi's relationship with Kabir Bedi, she initially maintained a cordial relationship with Protima Bedi, but later became possessive over Protima, leading to a falling out between the two. Protima would often ask Babi to look after her children, while she was away in Odisha. She attended Protima's funeral. She was introduced to U. G. Krishnamurti, through Mahesh Bhatt and developed a close mentorship and friendship with him.
Mahesh Bhatt revealed that Babi had her first panic attack in 1969, during communal riots. During which she was hidden under a mattress and transported to her guardian's home, fearing she might be sexually assaulted.
After a film shoot in 1979, Bhatt, Jamal and her secretary, Ved Sharma, witnessed Babi sitting in the corner of her bedroom, holding a knife. Babi claimed that Amitabh Bachchan, was attempting to kill her and the room was bugged. Over several days, she expressed persistent paranoia, claiming that many people around her were conspiring against her, including Bhatt. She alleged that Bhatt’s daughter, Pooja Bhatt, was being held for ransom and stated that killing her would be the only way to set Pooja free. Babi refused to eat food, unless someone else took a bite first, fearing it was poisoned.
On 30 July 1983, Babi left India and travelled to various countries for a spiritual journey with U. G. Krishnamurti and his friend Valentine and lived for some time, in both Los Angeles and Houston. She returned to Mumbai in November 1989. She was rumoured to have been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, although she always denied this, stating that it was a conspiracy by the film industry and the media, to malign her image and make her look insane, so they could cover up their crimes. This led Babi to break off relationships, with most of her friends and family and becoming reclusive.
On 7 April 1984, Babi was suspected at John F. Kennedy International Airport after she failed to submit her identification papers, the authorities handcuffed her and kept her in a general ward, with 30 other mentally disturbed patients. The Indian Consul General, who had been informed about the incident, had come to visit her at the hospital. During U.G. Krishnamurti's visit, Babi smiled and chatted with the consul as if nothing had happened. In an interview with a film magazine in 1989, she said: "Amitabh Bachchan is a super international gangster. He is after my life. His goons kidnapped me and I was kept on an island where they performed a surgery on me and planted one transmitter/chip/electronic bug right under my ear." There was a photograph of Babi, showing a scar below her ears.
Babi wrote a complaint in 2002, in which she accused several prominent figures: Bill Clinton, Robert Redford, Charles, Prince of Wales, Al Gore, along with the U.S., British and French governments, Roman Catholic Church, the CIA, CBI, KGB, and Mossad, of conspiring to kill her, but her petition in court was dismissed for lack of evidence; her evidence turned out to be scribblings on a notepad.
Also in 2002, she again hit the headlines when she filed an affidavit in a special court hearing of the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, claiming that she had gathered clinching evidence against actor Sanjay Dutt showing his involvement in the case, but she did not turn up in court after being summoned, saying that she was afraid of being killed. During the last four years of her life, Babi recorded every phone call, always punctiliously informing the caller, about surveillance.
Babi was found dead on 22 January 2005, after her residential society secretary, alerted the police that she had not collected groceries and newspapers from her doorstep for three days. The police suspected that she may have been dead for up to 72 hours, before her body was found. The cause of death was not immediately known. She was found to have gangrene on her left foot, a complication from diabetes. A wheelchair was found near her bed along with a series of disarranged paintings, clothes, medicines, and old newspapers. It is possible that she was unable to walk in her last days, due to a gangrenous foot and required the use of a wheelchair, to move around in her flat. An autopsy was performed at Cooper Hospital and reports showed that there were no traces of food in her stomach, but some alcohol (possibly from her medication) was found and it was possible that she had not eaten anything, for more than three days and starved to death as a result. The police ruled out foul play and determined she succumbed to organ failure and diabetes.
Although Babi expressed a desire to be buried according to Christian rites, her Muslim relatives who claimed her body after her death, buried her according to Islamic rites. She was buried at Juhu Muslim cemetery in Santacruz, Mumbai.
After her death, the State Administrator General of Maharashtra became sole custodian of her properties and assets. Following her death, chaos erupted when various distant relatives filed petitions with the high court regarding the will of her property which had been lying in the locker of a Junagadh bank, executed jointly by actor and friend Murad Khan Babi. The will stated that 70% of her property was to be put in a trust in her name to help poor members of the Babi family. 20% was pledged to Murad Khan Babi, for being "a guiding force", and 10% was to be given to Christian missionary funds.
Five years later in 2010, due to a shortage of land space for burials, Babi's grave along with other luminary Bollywood celebrities, such as Mohammed Rafi, Madhubala, Sahir Ludhianvi, Talat Mahmood, Naushad Ali, who were interred at Santa Cruz Muslim Cemetery, were exhumed and their remains were relocated to a new resting place.
Babi is regarded as one of the greatest and most beautiful actresses of Indian cinema. She never shied away from portraying roles of women having a live-in relationship with men and consuming alcohol openly, both of which were taboo in those times. The fact that she was paired with Amitabh Bachchan in eight films, during the peak of the Big B mania, attests to her stature and star power. Bachchan and Babi complemented each other in the heady first years of the Angry Young Man phenomenon. One of the highest paid actresses of the 1970s and the 1980s, in 2022, she was placed in Outlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actresses" list. Babi was among the most stylish and beautiful actress of Hindi cinema. Times of India placed her in its "50 Beautiful Faces" list. She was the first Indian star to be featured on the cover of the Asia edition of TIME in 1976. Rediff.com placed Babi seventh in its "Sexiest Bollywood stars of all times" list. Babi is considered among the hottest Bollywood actresses of all time.
Writing for Firstpost, Subhash K. Jha noted, "With her good looks, perk, poise, and sex appeal, the sky was the limit for Parveen Babi." Filmfare noted, "In the 1970s and 1980s, Parveen Babi had a devoted fan base and lit up the screen whenever she showed on it." India Today wrote, "Parveen Babi with her chiselled looks, well-sculpted body and anglicised accents donned the mantle of archetypal Indian heroine and imparted to the female prima donna of Bollywood her characteristic mannerisms forever." Latha Srinavasan of The Sunday Guardian termed her "alluring yet outspoken" and said she was "a sensation in the 1970s".
Mahesh Bhatt wrote and directed the movie Arth, released in 1982, it is supposedly a semi-autobiographical film about his relationship with Babi. Smita Patil's role Kavita in the film, was inspired by Babi. Bhatt also wrote and produced the movie Woh Lamhe, released in 2006 it was directed by his nephew Mohit Suri, it was based on his recollection and interpretation of his relationship with Babi and without any inputs from her. The role of Sana Azim, was inspired by her and was portrayed by Kangana Ranaut.
Fellow actress Zeenat Aman said, "Parveen was gorgeous, glamorous and talented. Back in the '70s, we wore our hair in a similar manner and enjoyed Western fashion. After her death, I often ruminated on how she was remembered. Parveen was much more than who she dated or what she said when she was unwell. I feel she never truly got the chance to say her piece." Designer Manish Malhotra said, "Parveen Babi brought minimalism into fashion. She was always impeccable, not overdoing it even once." Malhotra also added her in his "Five super stylish heroines of the seventies" list.In 2006, the 37th International Film Festival of India honoured Babi by screening her films. In 2020, Karishma Upadhyay wrote an biography about her named: "Parveen Babi: A Life".