Her beauty and her elegance have no match. She is timeless beauty Parveen Babi. Born at Junagadh in Gujarat, Parveen was a Muslim. She was born on 4th April 1949 and was one of the most iconic actresses of Bollywood. Her glamorous persona made her one of the first “sex symbols” of Indian cinema. She had completed her education from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Her career to movies had begun with modeling. She had started modeling in 1972 and her debut film Charitra in 1973 opposite cricketer Salim Durani. Although the movie was flop but she didn’t go unnoticed. Her first major hit was Majboor opposite Amitabh Bachchan in 1974. Her major hits include Deewar, Jaani Dost and Shaan. She never shied away from portraying roles of modern women which were taboo in those times.
She had changed the face of Indian Cinema. She was the first Bollywood star to be snapped on the front page of Time Magazine in July 1976. She was also the first female superstar of Bollywood. In her career, she had worked with many male superstars. In fact, Amitabh and Parveen were featured in eight movies. Kabir Bedi’s wife, Protima Bedi, wrote a book on her life.
Her personal life was full of tragedies. She never married but had relationship with Kabir Bedi, Danny Denzongpa and Mahesh Bhatt. In fact, her relationship with Mahesh Bhatt was known to people. It was due to their affair, Mahesh Bhatt made semi-autobiographical movies Arth and Woh Lamhe.
On the peak of her career, she had left industry. It was paranoid schizophrenia that slowly and gradually disintegrated her personality and life. She died a tragic death as she was found dead in her on 22 January, 2005 at her residence.
