On the 20th death anniversary of Parveen Babi, actor Jackie Shroff remembered the late diva.
Jackie took to Instagram, where he shared a video montage of Parveen Babi’s youthful days. It also featured several moments of her performances on songs such as Pyar Karne Wale from the 1980 film Shaan and Jawani Janeman from the 1982 film Namak Halal among others.
For the caption, Jackie simply wrote: “Remembering Parveen Babi (4 Apr 1954 – 20 Jan 2005).”
Parveen Babi was one of the highest-paid actresses of the 1970s and early 1980s. She was recognised for her glamorous acting style, her fashion, and was often tagged as a sex symbol. She started her modelling career in 1971. It was in 1972, when she made her acting debut with the film Charitra.
The actress gained the spotlight in 1974 for her work in Majboor, but it was the 1975 film Deewar with Amitabh Bachchan that helped her in establishing herself. She was then seen in films such as Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Kaala Patthar, The Burning Train, Shaan, Kranti, Kaalia and Namak Halaal.
The 1991 film Irada marked her final film appearance before retirement.
Her personal life has been well-documented. She stayed unmarried after a string of relationships with Danny Denzongpa, Kabir Bedi and Mahesh Bhatt. The actress was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, which came to the attention of the public following various incidents, as well as diabetes. She also had osteoarthritis of the knee.
On 20 January 2005, Babi died of multiple organ failure. She was found dead on 22 January 2005 after her residential society secretary alerted the police that she had not collected groceries and newspapers from her doorstep for three days.
The police suspected that she may have been dead for up to 72 hours before her body was found. The cause of her death was not immediately known. She was found to have a gangrene of the left foot, a complication of her diabetic condition. A wheelchair was found near her bed along with a series of disarranged paintings, clothes, medicines, and old newspapers.
There were no signs of food in her stomach, according to a post-mortem examination, although alcohol—possibly from her medication—was discovered. After ruling out foul play, the police concluded that she died of diabetes and complete organ failure.
