When Mahesh Bhatt Saw Parveen Babi Sitting With A Kitchen Knife, Dressed In Film Costume ( Photo Credit – Facebook ; IMDb )
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Bollywood actress Parveen Babi was an incredible artist as she has given a large number of blockbuster films in her career. Although she was talented and one of the highest-paid actresses, her life was filled with controversies. Babi’s personal life has been well-documented by the media; she remained unmarried after a string of relationships with actors, including the filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
The actress received recognition for her role in Majboor (1974), later she went on to do major films like Deewaar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Kaala Patthar, The Burning Train and many more. She became the first Bollywood star to appear on the cover of Time magazine in 1976.
Time and again, Mahesh Bhatt has spoken about his relationship with Parveen Babi. The filmmakers’ recent web series is said to be a take on his love affair with the actress. Meanwhile, during one of the interviews, Bhatt had spoken about a horrifying incident when he saw Babi sitting with a kitchen knife in a film costume.
Speaking to Filmfare, Mahesh Bhatt recalled, “I walked into that bedroom lined up with innumerable perfumes (the fragrance still lingers in my mind) on the dressing table, to see a sight that sent a chill down my spine. Parveen (Babi) was dressed in a film costume and sat curled up in the corner between the wall and the bed. Her gait was beast-like. She had a kitchen knife in her hand.”
The filmmaker continued, “’What are you doing?’ I asked. She said, ‘Shhsssh….! Don’t talk! This room is bugged (installed with a spying device). They’re trying to kill me; they’re going to drop a chandelier on me.’ She held my hand and led me outside. I saw her mother look helplessly at me. Her gaze revealed that this episode had happened before; it was not the first time.”
Mahesh Bhatt helped Parveen Babi by taking her to a top psychiatrist who diagnosed her with paranoid schizophrenia. However, her issue got worse. In the same interview, Bhatt also said, “Sometimes she’d say the air conditioner had a bug. We had to dismantle it and show it to her. At other times there was ‘a bug’ in the fan or in the perfume.”
Stay tuned to Koimoi for more such throwback stories.
