Parveen Babi.... Arth Se Anarth Tak..
Came across n article on parveen babi..thought shud share it with u ppl..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oPQjMHS4gk
Imagine a superstar, who epitomised the bold, the beautiful and the bohemian, reportedly being handcuffed and ankle-cuffed and carried by four policemen from the JFK airport in New York to a mental hospital because she refused to go through the customary checks growing uncontrollably hysterical…
Imagine a top heroine chucking up the sizzle of B-town to seek solace and sanity with a guru-philosopher in the US. And while she did return to ‘functional sanity’ the first time she came back, the second time round she’d reached a point of no return.
Parveen Babi’s nemesis lived within her. In the demons of her mind. The most exquisite face to have hit the Hindi screen in the ’70s, Parveen reportedly suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, which triggered a systematic disintegration of her personality and life. Some claim that her mental disorder was a result of substance-induced psychosis and alcoholism. Some blame a series of failed relationships with Danny Denzongpa, Kabir Bedi and most importantly Mahesh Bhatt. Some link it to a genetic disorder. And some even to an adolescent trauma where reportedly a young, trembling Parveen was hidden under a heap of mattresses in a truck by the nuns of her school during the Ahmedabad riots in the ’60s. The fear of being killed continued to be the subtext of her life… only to eventually kill her.
What could be more heartbreaking than a superstar having to identify herself? Six years after she fled to the USA to seek refuge in philosopher and guru UG Krishnamurthy, Parveen Babi walked down the Mumbai airport tarmac in November 1989 holding a placard that read ‘Parveen Babi’. She knew her longtime secretary Ved Sharma, who was there to receive her, wouldn’t be able to recognise her.
While the restrained Ved Sharma, now in his late 70s, feels protective about his late star client Parveen, his son, the young Lalit Sharma is more forthcoming about sharing impressions and memories of ‘aunty’ as he addressed the actor. Says Lalit, “Papa saw a fat lady with soda bottle and thick glasses at the airport, her hair all messed up, holding a board with her name! Parveen aunty had put on a lot of weight and had changed beyond recognition.” He reflects, “With due respect to her mental state, it’s a curse for a beautiful woman to lose her looks.”
Imagine a top heroine chucking up the sizzle of B-town to seek solace and sanity with a guru-philosopher in the US. And while she did return to ‘functional sanity’ the first time she came back, the second time round she’d reached a point of no return.
Parveen Babi’s nemesis lived within her. In the demons of her mind. The most exquisite face to have hit the Hindi screen in the ’70s, Parveen reportedly suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, which triggered a systematic disintegration of her personality and life. Some claim that her mental disorder was a result of substance-induced psychosis and alcoholism. Some blame a series of failed relationships with Danny Denzongpa, Kabir Bedi and most importantly Mahesh Bhatt. Some link it to a genetic disorder. And some even to an adolescent trauma where reportedly a young, trembling Parveen was hidden under a heap of mattresses in a truck by the nuns of her school during the Ahmedabad riots in the ’60s. The fear of being killed continued to be the subtext of her life… only to eventually kill her.
What could be more heartbreaking than a superstar having to identify herself? Six years after she fled to the USA to seek refuge in philosopher and guru UG Krishnamurthy, Parveen Babi walked down the Mumbai airport tarmac in November 1989 holding a placard that read ‘Parveen Babi’. She knew her longtime secretary Ved Sharma, who was there to receive her, wouldn’t be able to recognise her.
While the restrained Ved Sharma, now in his late 70s, feels protective about his late star client Parveen, his son, the young Lalit Sharma is more forthcoming about sharing impressions and memories of ‘aunty’ as he addressed the actor. Says Lalit, “Papa saw a fat lady with soda bottle and thick glasses at the airport, her hair all messed up, holding a board with her name! Parveen aunty had put on a lot of weight and had changed beyond recognition.” He reflects, “With due respect to her mental state, it’s a curse for a beautiful woman to lose her looks.”
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BEFORE…
While Ved Sharma began working for Parveen in the early ’70s, Lalit was born in 1975. As a child he remembers visiting her home in Kalumal Estate in Juhu during weekends. “It was a beautiful house built with Makrana marble that Papa had helped her buy. She also had a VCR, a rare thing those days and a couple of imported cars too. She made sure we were served well,” says Lalit who also vividly remembers Parveen’s mother (Jamal Babi). “We all used to call her Mummy. She was the one who taught Papa to eat paan.” He also remembers Parveen’s young nephew Javed Noor Ahmed Sheikh. “Javed bhai must now be in his 50s. He didn’t come on the scene at all after her death. Maybe he lost contact after she stopped recognising her dear ones due to her illness.”
Lalit continues, “Parveen aunty was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen. She had a marble like complexion. She was naturally glamorous. Imagine smoking Dunhill cigarettes in those days. She was the only Indian actress to have featured on the cover of Time magazine.”
He adds, “But she had a homely side too. At home she’d be simply dressed in jeans. She’d attend our birthday parties. She’d give us an envelope (of cash) so that we could buy whatever we wished.”
Though he declines to comment on her various relationships he admits, “Her most intense relationship was with Mahesh Bhatt. He was a struggler then and she a big-time actress.” He adds, “But when your girlfriend expects you to leave your wife, it gets dicey. Also, when a man gets involved with a mentally-depressed woman, his life becomes hell. Parveen aunty was always insecure of losing her men. With due respect to her mental state, she was a confused and scared personality.”
Incidentally, when Parveen first felt something snapping within her, she was introduced to guru and philosopher UG Krishnamurthy by Mahesh Bhatt. In September 1979, she quit the industry to follow her guru. She returned the following year rejuvenated and went on to do superhits like Shaan, Kaalia, Namak Halaal, Khud-daar and Mahaan (between 1980-82). Reportedly, she had broken off with Mahesh Bhatt by then.
In July 1983, at the peak of her career, Parveen abruptly left India to be with UG in the US again. Allegedly, the release of Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth (Bhatt’s semi-autobiographical film based on his turbulent relationship with Parveen) and her disturbed state of mind led her to ditch it all for good. And when she returned from the US again in 1989, she was a different Parveen altogether...
In July 1983, at the peak of her career, Parveen abruptly left India to be with UG in the US again. Allegedly, the release of Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth (Bhatt’s semi-autobiographical film based on his turbulent relationship with Parveen) and her disturbed state of mind led her to ditch it all for good. And when she returned from the US again in 1989, she was a different Parveen altogether...
AFTER…
Lalit who was in his teens then says, “From the time she returned to her demise, our relationship fluctuated, sometimes off, sometimes on. But while she was away, Papa had secured all her assets. He handed over the keys of her flat, the records of her fixed deposits, everything. Anyone else in her place would have been on the streets.” He continues, “Initially, she remained withdrawn. Papa thought that if he tried to guide her, she’d misconstrue it.”
Due to her paranoia, she lodged police complaints against 34 parties, including co-star Amitabh Bachchan and former US President Bill Clinton. She accused them of conspiring to kill her (the allegations were dismissed due to lack of evidence). She even filed an affidavit in the court after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, claiming that she had evidence against
Sanjay Dutt.
In the meanwhile, Parveen also began getting her official work done through Lalit. He reveals, “She distrusted us less than the others. I’d deposit her cheques, withdraw cash and even do legal jobs for her. But she wouldn’t let me xerox the documents. She feared they’d get stolen.
Lalit who was in his teens then says, “From the time she returned to her demise, our relationship fluctuated, sometimes off, sometimes on. But while she was away, Papa had secured all her assets. He handed over the keys of her flat, the records of her fixed deposits, everything. Anyone else in her place would have been on the streets.” He continues, “Initially, she remained withdrawn. Papa thought that if he tried to guide her, she’d misconstrue it.”
Due to her paranoia, she lodged police complaints against 34 parties, including co-star Amitabh Bachchan and former US President Bill Clinton. She accused them of conspiring to kill her (the allegations were dismissed due to lack of evidence). She even filed an affidavit in the court after the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case, claiming that she had evidence against
Sanjay Dutt.
In the meanwhile, Parveen also began getting her official work done through Lalit. He reveals, “She distrusted us less than the others. I’d deposit her cheques, withdraw cash and even do legal jobs for her. But she wouldn’t let me xerox the documents. She feared they’d get stolen.
So she’d make handwritten copies of the voluminous documents writing out word to word, line to line. You could not differentiate the original from the duplicate.” Parveen also made Lalit file police complaints. “If I refused to do so, we’d become villains. If the police didn’t accept her complaint she’d say, ‘I told you so, the police are hand in glove’.”
While the Sharmas were allowed inside her residence, Parveen wouldn’t open the door for anyone else. “For groceries and essentials, she’d slip the money through the door and collect the milk and eggs once the man had left.” Lalit traces the origin of this neurotic fear, “Once she had stepped out to buy something when a bus passed close to her near the Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple in Juhu. She believed that someone had sent the bus to kill her.”
Later Parveen even stopped eating cooked food, fearing it would be poisoned, says Lalit. “All she drank was the yellow of the egg; she’d whip it and make a juice. That’s why so many boils had sprouted on her face.”
Her mistrust was so intense that she refused to be treated for her mental illness. “She didn’t trust the doctors. Anyone who suggested she should see a psychiatrist became her enemy, even her mother!” says Lalit adding, “She even believed that the January 26, 2001 earthquake in Kutch was planned because she had a water tank on the terrace and ‘they’ wanted to kill her by crushing it. If her car didn’t work, she’d believe that someone had deliberately tampered with it.”
What Lalit found strange was that she never mentioned her past relationships or her glory. He remembers her 50th birthday for which she had invited them. “Her make-up was garish. She had ordered food and it was laid out at 6 pm. It had turned cold. She made the electrician serve us as she never employed any domestic staff. When I went to the kitchen to keep my plate, I was appalled at the filth and stink. For someone who was once a cleanliness freak, this was shocking. Her beautiful terrace flat was a mess. It had heaps and heaps of newspapers which were categorised in sections like politics, health, entertainment etc.”
Lalit says it was impossible to have a normal conversation with her. “She had developed this weird habit of putting on a tape recorder when you visited her. She’d switch on the gadget and say into the mike, ‘This is Lalit, Sharmaji’s son with me, the day is…’ and then begin talking. On her birthday she did the same thing.”
Two months before she passed away, Lalit had visited her. “She sounded okay. There was a wheelchair at home (she had gangrene on her foot) but she didn’t look weak.” The Sharmas came to know of her demise on January 22, 2005 (she had passed away on January 20) when they watched the news on television. Reportedly, the police was alerted, as she had not collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for the past three days. She had developed a complication due to her diabetic condition.
“We went to the hospital where her relatives had turned up. They told Papa to tell the police that they were related to her. Papa said, ‘I know you all but I won’t say that you’re related to her as none of you looked after her’. In fact, in keeping with her bizarre behaviour, Parveen had assigned shares to her dead relatives in her will,” says Lalit.
Finally, Parveen Wali Mohammed Khan Babi was buried next to her mother at Santa Cruz, Mumbai on January 23, 2005. But to all those who once knew her, she had died long ago.While the Sharmas were allowed inside her residence, Parveen wouldn’t open the door for anyone else. “For groceries and essentials, she’d slip the money through the door and collect the milk and eggs once the man had left.” Lalit traces the origin of this neurotic fear, “Once she had stepped out to buy something when a bus passed close to her near the Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple in Juhu. She believed that someone had sent the bus to kill her.”
Later Parveen even stopped eating cooked food, fearing it would be poisoned, says Lalit. “All she drank was the yellow of the egg; she’d whip it and make a juice. That’s why so many boils had sprouted on her face.”
Her mistrust was so intense that she refused to be treated for her mental illness. “She didn’t trust the doctors. Anyone who suggested she should see a psychiatrist became her enemy, even her mother!” says Lalit adding, “She even believed that the January 26, 2001 earthquake in Kutch was planned because she had a water tank on the terrace and ‘they’ wanted to kill her by crushing it. If her car didn’t work, she’d believe that someone had deliberately tampered with it.”
What Lalit found strange was that she never mentioned her past relationships or her glory. He remembers her 50th birthday for which she had invited them. “Her make-up was garish. She had ordered food and it was laid out at 6 pm. It had turned cold. She made the electrician serve us as she never employed any domestic staff. When I went to the kitchen to keep my plate, I was appalled at the filth and stink. For someone who was once a cleanliness freak, this was shocking. Her beautiful terrace flat was a mess. It had heaps and heaps of newspapers which were categorised in sections like politics, health, entertainment etc.”
Lalit says it was impossible to have a normal conversation with her. “She had developed this weird habit of putting on a tape recorder when you visited her. She’d switch on the gadget and say into the mike, ‘This is Lalit, Sharmaji’s son with me, the day is…’ and then begin talking. On her birthday she did the same thing.”
Two months before she passed away, Lalit had visited her. “She sounded okay. There was a wheelchair at home (she had gangrene on her foot) but she didn’t look weak.” The Sharmas came to know of her demise on January 22, 2005 (she had passed away on January 20) when they watched the news on television. Reportedly, the police was alerted, as she had not collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for the past three days. She had developed a complication due to her diabetic condition.
“We went to the hospital where her relatives had turned up. They told Papa to tell the police that they were related to her. Papa said, ‘I know you all but I won’t say that you’re related to her as none of you looked after her’. In fact, in keeping with her bizarre behaviour, Parveen had assigned shares to her dead relatives in her will,” says Lalit.
her last interview with shekhar suman pretty much validates everything..heres d link-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znDwCIKYjcU
