Parveen Babi wanted to quit Hindi films to live abroad, was insecure of Kabir Bedi's stardom overseas: ‘People were not giving her respect'

Indian Express

15-07-2025

Kabir Bedi and late actor Parveen Babi were in a relationship for a brief period. In a recent interaction, Kabir Bedi spoke about the actor's struggle with mental illness. He revealed that he and Parveen got together after he separated from his wife, Protima Gauri, and Parveen's relationship with actor Danny Denzongpa ended. He said that he discovered her mental health issues during their relationship and tried to help her. However, Parveen refused his help.
Speaking about it with Siddharth Kannan, Kabir said, 'Her biggest fear was that if people got to know about her mental instability in the industry, they won't give her work. When I left India to go to London, Praveen had also accompanied me. In London, I had a home and I wanted to start my life again with her there. I wanted her to sort treatment there, but she didn't want any doctor to know about her condition.'
Apart from doing films in India, Kabir Bedi also had a flourishing career overseas, especially in Europe, where he became a household name thanks to his role as Sandokan. Kabir revealed that Parveen had even thought of leaving the film industry for good. 'The plan was for her to leave the industry and stay with me abroad. However, she didn't like the pressure I was putting on her to get the treatment,' he said. Kabir revealed that Parveen came back to India as her film Amar Akbar Anthony was a major hit at the time, and she started getting work in the Hindi film industry again.
When asked if Parveen was insecure about Kabir Bedi's stardom overseas, he responded, 'This is true because she was the bigger star in India and I was the star in Europe. People were not giving her the respect that she was getting in India.'
Kabir explained this with an instance involving Italian actor Gina Lollobrigida, who once invited him for dinner, which led to a showdown between Gina and Parveen. He said, 'Gina welcomed us and introduced us to her friends, but during the party, she only spoke to me and ignored Parveen, which Parveen didn't like. I thought things will get better when we went for a private dinner, but it didn't happen. Gina asked me for a dance and we danced together. I was happy that I am dancing with a big actor like Gina, but at the same time, I could sense Parveen being upset.'
Speaking about how Gina insulted Parveen, he said, 'After we came back to the table, Gina spoke to Parveen saying, 'What are you doing here? Following the star?' She insulted Parveen and before I could even say anything, Parveen responded, 'No my dear. I am here with my man because I have a man.' Gina was single at that time.'
Kabir shared that after this interaction, Parveen danced with him and then decided to leave the dinner party. Kabir was caught between a rock and a hard place because he couldn't leave the dinner party organised by Gina for them, and he also couldn't let Parveen go to the hotel alone. So, the actor decided to leave the party and accompany Parveen back to the hotel. 'Gina insulted my woman and I could not accept that,' he said.
Parveen Babi died in 2005 at the age 50. Her remains were found three days after her passing.