Late Bollywood star Parveen Babi, one of the biggest names of the 1970s and 1980s, struggled with severe mental health issues that ultimately overshadowed her film career. Actress Pooja Bedi has now shared an anecdote about Babi’s paranoia, revealing that the veteran believed intelligence agencies were tampering with her food and personal items.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Pooja, daughter of Kabir Bedi — who was once in a relationship with Parveen — recounted visiting the actress after her return to India.
“I remember that many years later, she had come back to India. Everyone was saying that something was wrong with her. I went to her home; she opened her door, and she looked so different. She had put on a lot of weight and had wild hair. She was so excited to see me and said, ‘Pooja! Hi! Come in.’ Then she gave me a big hug, and we were sitting and chatting, and everything was completely normal,” Pooja said.
“Suddenly, she said, ‘I am sorry that I can’t offer you food because I only eat eggs.’ I asked her why she ate only eggs, and she replied, ‘This is the one thing they can’t tamper with.’ I asked her, ‘Who?’ She said, ‘The Secret Service, or the FBI.’ She told me that she doesn’t buy makeup from the markets because someone contaminates it,” Pooja added.
Pooja said she was left “really concerned and confused” by Parveen’s remarks.
Parveen Babi made her debut with Charitra (1973) and went on to star in a string of hits including Deewaar (1975), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Kaala Patthar (1979) and Namak Halaal (1982).
However, by the mid-1980s, she withdrew from the film industry, reportedly battling schizophrenia, and lived a largely reclusive life in her later years.
Parveen Babi was found dead in her Mumbai apartment on January 20, 2005. She was 55. The official cause of death was multiple organ failure.