When Danny Denzongpa didn't know how to handle Parveen Babi who'd enter his bedroom, watch films in his absence
On actor Parveen Babi's 67th birth anniversary, a look at her relationship with fellow actor Danny Denzongpa.
Actor Parveen Babi died 16 years ago but the fascination with her remains intact. Her relationships and mental health have been endlessly debated. She was in serious relationship with three men from the industry - Danny Denzongpa, Kabir Bedi and Mahesh Bhatt. While a lot has been written about Kabir and Mahesh chapters in Parveen's life, little is known about what happened betweeh her and Danny. They were reportedly together for four years but he had no inkling of her illness. On her 67th birth anniversary, a look at her years with Danny.
Parveen and Danny were part of what was known as the Juhu Gang which included Shekhar Kapur, Kabir Bedi, Protima Bedi, Prarikshit Sahni among others. Parveen and Danny were blissfully happy but soon both had different expectations from their relationship and that meant that the two drifted apart.
The usuaully reticent Danny had said in an interview to Bollywood Hungama that she "was my first girlfriend" and that they "lived in the same building". "She was on the 4th floor and I was on the 1st floor," he had added.
Despite four blissful years, by the mid-70s, the two started to move away from each other. Parveen began dating Kabir Bedi, who was married to dancer Protima Bedi and was a father of two kids. Danny had started seeing young Kim Yashpal, who is best remembered for her role in Disco Dancer. In a rare interview to Filmfare, Danny had said: “We were two young kids and we lived together for four years. That was big news those days. We had a wonderful time, but later we grew apart and parted on a good note. We remained friends."
Danny had no knowledge of Parveen's illness but her behaviour even after they broke up was a bit bizarre. He had thrown some light on it. Narrating an incident, he had revealed how once when his then girlfriend Kim and he reached his Mumbai home, to their uttter surprise, they found Parveen in his bedroom, watching movies on a VCR. “Parveen would keep inviting me for dinner. I had a new girlfriend (actor Kim) those days who was wary of Parveen. Also, if your ex keeps walks into the house anytime, it would be difficult for any girl to accept. I would pick up Kim from the sets after pack up and reach home only to find Parveen in my bedroom watching a movie on the VCR. I asked Parveen not to do it. But she’d say, ‘We don’t have anything between us, we are friends'."
Danny realised that Parveen was unwell much later when she was dating Mahesh. It had been Parveen's nature to invite Danny for dinner. He had continued in the same interview: "I had been for dinner at her place. There were silver conches on the table. When I began blowing one, she got frightened. That’s when Mahesh said, ‘She gets easily frightened these days and is turning into a recluse’.”
Also read: ‘Parveen Babi survived on a diet of milk, eggs towards the end of her life’: Karishma Upadhyay
Danny had maintained that he had always been there for her as her health steadily declined. He would visit her whenever needed. Then one day, she suddenly stopped all interaction with Danny. The reason was Amitabh Bachchan. In the same interview he had continued how she once read an interview which mentioned Danny was good friends with Amitabh. In her illness, Parveen would accuse Amitabh along with many international powers wanting to harm her. That was it - one day, as he visited her, she looked through the keyhole and refused to let him in. And thus ended what had been a strong but a short-lived romance.
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