Over the years, a lot of people came forward to share their conversations and experiences with Parveen Babi during the end days of her life in Bollywood. The gorgeous diva, who was at the top of her career, lost it all due to mental illness. Her deteriorating mental health made it difficult for her to keep up with the projects, and eventually, she would get replaced. And one such incident happened during the shooting of Amitabh Bachchan’s film, Silsila.
Journalist reveals Parveen Babi would carry costumes of her film, Silsila with her
In an interview with Meri Saheli, author and journalist, Hanif Zaveri talked about Parveen Babi’s mental health. He shared that it was due to Parveen’s deteriorating mental health that Amitabh Bachchan expressed his opinion of reconsidering Yash Chopra’s decision to cast her in the film, Silsila.
Hanif revealed that when Silsila was in the making, she requested Yash Chopra to let her carry her costume with her. She seemed possessive as she carried her costumes everywhere and even took them to Kashmir, where she was shooting for the film, Kaalia, with Amitabh Bachchan. Hanif shared:
“When Silsila was in the making and they cast Parveen Babi… she requested Yash Chopra to let her carry her costumes with her. She had become that possessive. She carried her costumes everywhere and even took them to Kashmir, where she was shooting for Kaalia with Amitabh Bachchan.”
Hanif revealed that once she took her friend and cinematographer Parvin Bhatt to her room and showed him her costumes for Silsila. He was left shocked at why she brought it to Kashmir. To this, Parveen explained that her clothes could have been stolen in Bombay. This was enough for Parvin to realise that something was wrong with Parveen Babi. Hanif said:
“She was good friends with cinematographer Parvin Bhatt. She once took him to her room and showed to him: ‘You see these clothes? They are my clothes for Silsila.’ Bhatt was shocked. He asked: ‘Why did you get them here?’ She shared, ‘Bombay mein chori hojati hai (They steal it in Bombay).’ It was at that moment when Bhatt realised Parvin is suffering from some mental illness.”
Parveen Babi started crawling in the hotel room
Hanif revealed another incident which showed that Parveen was struggling with a mental problem. He shared that Parvin Bhatt, who had a room on the same floor as Parveen Babi, saw her crawling towards his room. When he questioned her what made her crawl, Parveen Babi stated that she thought she might fall. Talking about it, Hanif said:
“During the shoot of Kaalia, Parvin Bhatt and Parveen Babi had their rooms on the same floor with some distance when he found her crawling towards his room. She thought she would fall if she walked. This time, Bhatt confirmed that she was sick.”
Hanif revealed that Amitabh Bachchan also noticed changes in Parveen Babi during their shoot for the film, Kaalia. After which, he called Yash Chopra and asked him to come to Kashmir. Yash Chopra also noticed Parveen’s cheeks were swollen, which could have been due to her alcohol intake. He was worried about her mental health struggle. He thought that if something happened in between the shooting of the film, then the whole film would halt.
To avoid the worst, he lied to Parveen and stated that the film’s script had been changed. He made an excuse and removed her from the film, which left a big impact on Parveen Babi. After this, Parveen Babi thought that it was due to Amitabh Bachchan that she was removed from the film. Hanif sided with Amitabh and stated that the superstar was only thinking about the film’s future.
What do you think about Parveen Babi’s health struggle?
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