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In a detailed interview with Filmfare, Mahesh Bhatt untangled all those broken threads of his heart and expressed his love and grief for Parveen Babi. Let's take a look at their unconventional but heart wrenching love story
Parveen was at the peak of her career when she fell in love with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Their love blossomed in 1977. Though Mahesh was a married man, he decided to live in with Parveen Babi, who was a superstar then. Parveen was shooting for Amar Akbar Anthony and Kala Pathar in those days. Theirs was a life filled with love where there was no place for failure or stardom. At home, Parveen was just an ordinary girl who was madly in love with Mahesh Bhatt. But this fairy tale had a bitter ending.
On an unfortunate evening in 1979, Mahesh Bhatt came face to face with the biggest truth of his life. When one evening he came home, he found Parveen dressed up in a film costume, sitting curled up at a corner in her house. She had a kitchen knife in her hand. On seeing Mahesh she gestured him to be quiet and said, "Don't talk! The room is bugged. They're trying to kill me." This was the first instance when Mahesh Bhatt saw her in this condition. Soon the attacks became frequent. Parveen was diagnosed with one of the most dreaded disorder - paranoid schizophrenia.
Doctors and filmmakers, who saw their films on the verge of being stalled, wanted Parveen to undergo 'electric shocks' which at that time seemed like the only temporary option to calm her down. But Mahesh Bhatt stood rock solid by her and tried his level best to protect her from the callousness of these shocks. Kabir Bedi, who was Parveen Babi's ex, suggested a couple of hospitals to Mahesh Bhatt in the US for Parveen's treatment. Danny Dengzongpa, who was once Parveen's neighbour and boyfriend also helped Mahesh during this phase.
Parveen's panic attacks refused to cease. A continuous threat of someone trying to kill her hounded her. At times she would feel the AC had a bug, at other times she felt their car had a bomb and she could hear it ticking. She felt that Amitabh Bachchan with whom she had done a number of films wanted to kill her. Parveen believed that she had harmed him in someway and so he wanted to kill her. Her constant attacks made it necessary to hide her from the public's glare.
Electric shock therapy was the only option they were left with. When Mahesh Bhatt opposed this, he was tagged as a 'user' who used her fame and stardom. Parveen had become uncontrollable by this time. She refused to take medicines and forced Mahesh Bhatt to eat first just to check if he had added medicine into her food and drink. And at times, Mahesh even used to eat the food just so that she takes the medicine.
When there was no hope left, Mahesh ran away with Parveen Babi to Bangalore. Mahesh thought a peaceful life would bring her back to him. He wanted to keep her stress free. In the same year, Mahesh Bhatt left Parveen and came back to his wife Lorraine. Parveen's philosopher in Bangalore advised Mahesh to stay away from Parveen as his presence was worsening her condition. It was during this time that Mahesh Bhatt had started writing 'Arth', a film which was totally inspired by his own life.
Soon after Mahesh, Parveen too came back to the city without having undergone complete treatment. Mahesh Bhatt, who had returned to his wife, could not stop himself from being there for Parveen. One night, while they both were about to make love, Parveen asked him to choose between her and her philosopher UG. UG did not want her to go back to films and neither did Mahesh. Mahesh knew this was the end of their relationship and he walked out in the middle of the night. Parveen followed him, stark naked, but Mahesh did not stop. He walked away, from her and from her life.
n 2005, Mahesh Bhatt was flooded with messages of Parveen Babi's mysterious death. When Mahesh Bhatt got to know that no one had come forward to claim her body, he offered to bury her. Mahesh still believes that he owes it all to Parveen. The depth and bond they shared, was brought on celluloid by the filmmaker himself. His films like 'Arth' and 'Woh Lamhe' vouch for his gratitude towards the actress.
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