"KOI ISS LIYE PEE RAHA HAI KI AAJ DOSTON KE SAATH HAI, AUR KOI ISS LIYE PEE RAHA HAI, KI AAJ DOST SAATH NAHI". – PARVEEN BABI AS ANITA IN DEEWAR (HER ENTRY)
That's Parveen Babi for you.
Hard to believe it's 17 years she passed away in to eternity.
Born today in 1954 , she would have been 69 today and I am sure as elegant as Zeenat Aman today.
Though she is often just relegated to the term diva, as if being a beautiful presence on-screen requires no talent at all. It would be cruel not to pay tribute to her characters. For example, let us consider the other female star of the 70s – Zeenat Aman. Zeenat was also an emblem for the unabashed female sensuality. In contrast, Parveen Babi’s characters have had no backstory. There is no redemption arc needing to justify why she is what she is.
She was often considered to be Zeenat Aman's rival owing to their glam quotient tag. In fact, she acted alongside Zeenat Aman in Ashanti (1982) and Mahaan (1983) having her moments. Even in hero-centric films like Deewaar (1975), Shaan (1980) Kaalia and Namak Halaal (1982), she made her presence felt with her serene aloofness. She even stole the thunder from her co-star Hema Malini in Manoj Kumar's Kranti (1981)
Parveen Babi is somewhat of a byword for tragedy in Bollywood; a star who everyone recognises, but nobody fondly remembers. Few, if any, look beyond the shallow sympathy her story of mental illness and failed relationships evoke. Fewer still acknowledge that under this div(a)ine halo, she was a strong person. She was a survivor and still passed away a schizophrenic.
Amitabh Bachchan co-starred with Parveen Babi in eight films - Majboor, Deewaar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Shaan, Kaalia, Mahaan, Khud-daar and Do Aur Do Paanch apart from Namak Halaal, Suhaag and Desh Premee where they were not cast opposite each other.
Parveen also starred in offbeat films like Vinod Pande's Yeh Nazdeekiyan (1982) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Rang Birangi (1983) which is a personal favourite.
In retrospect, Parveen Babi’s characters are a natural extension of her real-life persona. Albeit the word ‘bold’ has lost its meaning due to chronic overuse over the years, I believe she is the true owner of the title. In a country where personal issues are shushed down to present a veneer of normalcy, she chose to be open and vulnerable. She might have become immortal on the silver screen. Yet, she left with us the image of a strong, vulnerable, fragile, and indeed, mortal woman.
She graced the TIME magazine cover too.
Sadly Mahesh Bhatt under the name of Biographical cinema has depicted his relationship with her in Arth (1983) wherein the character of the other woman, played by Smita Patil, was based on Parveen.
He made Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aaye in 1993.
In 2006 a year after she passed he made Woh Lamhe... (2006) based on his life with her.
In 2022 again he has made a serial on Voot " Ranjishe Sahi" with similar biographical lines
Time now that she is left alone in peace.
And we enjoy the glory of her cinema.
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