Parveen Babi

Biography

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. One of the highest-paid actresses of the 1970s and the 1980s, she appeared in over 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 was educated at St. Xavier's College and began her modeling career in 1971. Two years later, she made her acting debut in the film Charitra. She became popular in the mid-1970s, with notable roles in films 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, was her final film before she retired from the film industry. 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.

== Early life ==

Babi was born on 4 April 1954 in Junagadh, Saurashtra (now in Gujarat), India to an aristocratic family of the Babi dynasty. Babi's parents belonged to the Babi tribe of Gujarati Pathans. Her father, Wali Mohammed Khan Babi, was an official in the Junagadh State and a relative of Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, the last Nawab of Junagadh. During the partition of India, on 15 August 1947, Mahabat Khan announced that his princely state will join the newly-created Pakistan, however in a referendum held on 20 February 1948, 99.95% of Junagadh's population voted to join independent India. Wali was relieved of his job, land, and title. However, under the Land Acquisition Act, he was offered approximately 100 bighas of agricultural land in the Bamangam village of Gujarat's Anand district. The cultivation of wheat and groundnut on this land served as the majority of the family's income. Babi's mother, Jamal Bakhte Babi, was a distant relative within the Babi clan, and moved from Devgam village in Amreli to Junagadh after her marriage. While she wasn't well-educated, Wali, recognizing her worldly-wiseness, handed over complete control of his Bamangan land to her. Born 14 years after her parents' marriage, Babi was an only child and grew up in a 54-room haveli maintained by a staff of half-a-dozen people. The family eventually moved to a two-storey mansion in Diwan chowk. Her father died from throat cancer when she was six years old, while her mother died in 2001. She completed her early education at a Gujarati medium school. In 1968, a fourteen-year old Babi enrolled in St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad for her pre-university course. Her mother was reluctant to send her away from home to study, as educating daughters wasn't a mainstream practice at the time. After months of "begging and cajoling" from Babi, she agreed on the condition that Babi must get engaged and marry in the near future. As a native speaker of Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu, Babi self-taught herself English in college. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology and a Master of Arts in English.

== Career ==

=== 1971–1974: Modelling, debut and early roles === Babi's modelling career began in 1971, when she was recruited by Jeannie Naoroji, for a fashion show at Calico Dome in September 1971. In 1972, B. R. Ishara having taken notice of Babi and who was watching 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 Babi to her father, who was searching for a new cast member, whom he could cast in his film Dhuen Ki Lakeer (1974). Unknown to Sahu, Ishara announced that Babi would make her acting debut in his film Charitra which was released in 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, it was the first of her many collaborations with actor Amitabh Bachchan.

=== 1974–1976: Breakthrough and career advancement === 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 originally cast Babi in Kabhi Kabhie (1976) as Pinky Kapoor, opposite Rishi Kapoor, but she was eventually replaced by Neetu Singh, as Chopra felt she would not look suitable alongside Kapoor.

=== 1976–1983: Established actress === 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 had 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, actor Ranjeet claimed that 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 Bollywood debutant Marc Zuber. In Yeh Nazdeekiyan, she played a supermodel named Kiran with whom Zuber's character Sunil 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 appearances, she was often compared to her contemporary Zeenat Aman. 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, during her career. She would generally 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.

=== 1983–1993: Later career === Babi later "disappeared" from the film industry 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 films were released during the following years, right up until her last film Irada in 1991. She worked as an interior decorator from 1983 to 1992. After leaving the film industry in 1983, she studied 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 1968 to 1993. She lived in a penthouse apartment in Bombay, living affluently from sound financial investments.