Zeenat Aman remembered her colleague Parveen Babi on her birth anniversary yesterday. 'Remembering' and 'honouring' her, the veteran actress penned a heartwarming note on her Instagram page. Sharing pictures with Parveen, Zeenat opened up about the relationship they shared despite being compared on the basis of looks. She also addressed the tales of competition the media had created back then.
Zeenat wrote, "Parveen was gorgeous, glamorous and talented. Back in the 70s, we wore our hair in a similar manner and enjoyed Western fashion. Though neither of us saw it, we were told we had an uncanny resemblance. It must have been true, because as recently as last year I was approached in Dubai as “Parveen ma’am”. Naturally the media at the time spun tales of competition and rivalry between us, but in reality we were always warm towards each other. Not best friends, but contemporaries, colleagues and well wishers. We worked together on Ashanti and Mahaan."
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She further added, "Parveen’s struggle with mental health illness came at a time when the country was still so insensitive and ignorant on these matters. After her death, I often ruminated on how she was remembered. The tabloids focused on her romantic relationships and “episodes”, but Parveen was much more than who she dated or what she said when she was unwell. I feel she never truly got the chance to say her piece."
Zeenat shared, "She was intelligent and hardworking and creative. She loved reading, and I remember her curled up with a book in between shots on set. She achieved incredible success as an actor, even featuring on the cover of Time magazine. Later, she took up various creative pursuits, embarked on a spiritual journey, and started designing interiors. We stayed in touch on and off for years, before ultimately drifting apart." While signing off, Zeenat called Parveen 'remarkable in many ways', and stated, "I hope she will be remembered for the effervescent person she was."
Parveen was reportedly diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a mental illness, although she regularly denied this. She maintained that it was a conspiracy by the film industry and the media to malign her image and make her appear insane, so that they could cover up their crimes. It was also claimed that the veteran actress suffered from acute depression brought on by a failed relationship, which led her to mistrust and break ties with all her near and dear ones.
The actress was found dead on January 22, 2005, at her residence after the society alerted the police that she had not collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for three days. According to reports, the post-mortem reports showed that she might not have consumed anything for more than three days and starved to death as a result.
(Source: Instagram)
