“Koi is liye pee raha hai ki din bhar kaam kiya, thak gaye... koi is liye pee raha hai ki aaj din bhar kuch nahi kiya, bore ho gaye... koi is liye pee raha hai ki aaj doston ke saath hai... aur koi is liye pee raha hai ki aaj dost saath nahi.” These lines from Parveen Babi’s iconic song from Deewaar perfectly describe the actor’s tragic life. Parveen was not only the highest paid actress of her time, she was also a trendsetter and dominated Bollywood in the 1970s and 80s. But life had other plans for her. Parveen died a lonely death in her Juhu apartment and her life played out like a dramatic film. Parveen Babi is widely known to have suffered from schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that she was diagnosed with in the early 1980s.
With a Bollywood career spanning over 2 decades, Parveen appeared in more than 50 Hindi films and went on to become the first Indian to feature in the Time magazine. Parveen starred in some iconic Bollywood films like Amar Akbar Anthony, Shaan, Kaalia, Deewaar, Trimurti, Ameer Aadmi Gharib Aadmi, among others and her work propelled her to the top of the industry charts.
Actor and TV anchor Shekhar Suman was one of the few lucky ones to interview Parveen on his hit show Simply Shekhar. Shekhar was the man who had the privilege of hosting her last interview and contrary to belief, the interaction explored and featured the fun side of Parveen. In.com sat down with Shekhar Suman and asked him to share his experience on how it was to interview one of the most mesmerising divas of Bollywood.
How did you get Parveen Babi to come on your chat show?
She had a closed living, protected and sheltered life. What I got to know was that she had a persecution complex. When she agreed to come on my show, I was really delighted. But on the day of the shoot, as was expected of her, she called and asked if the interview can be done at her place. I said I have never done it before. Even ex-PMs, Home Ministers, Finance Ministers and the biggest of stars have come down to the studio to shoot the episode, so we really can’t make an exception. But it was my call more than that of the channel. I decided that it’s an opportunity that I cannot pass up, so I told her that I will make an exception and agreed to go to her house. I informed the channel and they were ok with my decision. The episode is probably the stand-alone episode that will stand out, as the rest of my episodes were shot in the studio. I did the introduction from the studio and went ahead to do the interview at her place in Juhu.
How did you prepare yourself before interviewing Parveen?
There was no google, YouTube or internet back then so there was no special research done and I am that kind of a person who goes with the research in my head and Parveen’s case was no exception. I have grown up watching the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Rajkumar and Raj Kapoor and I was well prepared with the questions mentally and I guess that’s what the celebs liked, a normal conversation and not a typical question and answer session. She was a big star and we are all well aware of her state of mind and her notion about one particular star back then. So keeping all that in mind, I went for the shoot.
What’s a trivia you remember about the interview?
Once we reached her place, she gave me and my crew members a warm welcome. I must tell you, she was a good host. Very cordial. After we settled in and were getting ready for the shoot, she said she will make French onion soup, not just for me but for all the crew members. We were all overwhelmed and delighted with her gesture. But somewhere at the back of our minds, with the kind of background and history of few people trying to kill her, everybody, including me was scared to have that soup. So when she offered it to me, I told the rest of the team to go ahead and have it and all of them immediately knew why I insisted on them having it first. They said they haven’t had the soup before so were not interested and that they don’t like it. I requested them to have it since she took the effort to make it. I stand guilty of putting the rest of team in a spot and forcing them to have that soup. Mind you, it was a fantastic soup and everyone loved it.
How did the interview go?
It was one of the best interviews I have ever done. She was a well-read and broad-minded person who had a westernized state of mind. She could talk about anything and everything until she started talking about a certain person who she thought was trying to kill her. That is when my antennas were up and I had to handle it delicately. There was a problem. Something that was stuck in her head and I allowed her to talk about it. For the first time, we edited the whole portion out. Normally, we would never do that. Whatever was said on the show, we would air it. But this episode was an exception.
What went through your mind when you got to know about Parveen’s death?
Like I said before, I have lived and grown up watching these people. Whether you are part of Bollywood or not, they become a part of your family. Any happy occasion in your life, like a marriage, we play their songs and they become a part of us forever. When I got to know about her death, I was shocked given that I had done the interview with her. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one of the first divas of Bollywood would die such a tragic and untimely death. I felt bad that pictures of her body, with her mouth open and on her bed would do the rounds like it did.
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