69th BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW

PARVEEN BABI

“I have my own individuality, my own style and above all a particular personality, which is quite different from that of Zeenat Aman”

Jyothi Venkatesh

(To commemorate her 69th birth anniversary today on April 4 this year, we reproduce this rare interview of PARVEEN BABI by JYOTHI VENKATESH, which appeared for the first time 47 years ago in Femina dated November 23, 1973)  

Gifted with a splendid figure, a sensitive and expressive face and a pair of talking eyes, Parveen Babi is a multi-talented actress. Believe it or faint, Parveen currently holds more than 15 assignments on her hands. Isn’t she nervous of facing the cameras? “I had modeled for almost all the top advertising agencies when I was a college student in Ahmedabad. Hence there is no reason for me to be shy in front of the camera,” she quips right at the outset. 

How did she bag the prize assignment in B.R. Ishara’s movie Charitra with India’s ace cricketer Salim Durrani? Did she nurture since childhood a desire to carve for herself a career in the uncertain world of glamour? “No. I never ever felt I would become a film star. I was only interested in acting on the stage. I have many stage plays to my credit. My plays at Ahmedabad were very popular. At that time I was doing my M.A in literature when I had a chance encounter with Mr B.R. Ishara who had come to see one of my plays.” That did it. Parveen, quite dazzled at the prospect of a career in films, promptly entered into a contract with him. 

Exactly 69 years ago, Parveen Babi was born on April 4, 1951 at Junagadh. That she has persevered steadfastly to reach her goal is amply evident from the fact that she has as her leading men stars like Shatrughan Sinha, Vijay Arora, Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa and Sanjay Khan. 

What would she have become had she not joined films? “I’d have joined the rank of literati or become a top free-lance journalist. I have a deep interest in literature and had taken a post-graduate course in literature. However I skipped my course after the first year in order to involve myself with films.” 

Other than modeling, literature, journalism and the stage, her wide range of interests include Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi, dress designing and embroidery. One is however dazed to find this sexy siren off the screen sans see through garments, jewellery or gaudy make- up. “I like to be informal and simple at least off the screen. You can’t equate my character in films with my individual personality.” 

Parveen Babi is well conversant with several languages including Urdu, English, Hindi, Gujarati and a li’l bit of Pune Marathi. She is fond of singing a few English pop songs and Hindi hit songs in between the takes to keep her busy, but feels she shouldn’t take the risk of singing in her films, “at least not in the initial stages.” 

Does she relish being hailed as a duplicate Zeenat Aman? “I have my own individuality, my own style and above all a particular personality, which I would say is quite different from that of Zeenat Aman. I admire her a lot for her talent but it is not quite complimentary to hear film folks comparing me to her just because I look sexy.”

Would Parveen Babi continue modeling and acting on the stage notwithstanding the progress she has made in films? “I’d love to but the greatest handicap is time. Right now I’m more interested in acting in films. It has become my sole career now. But I’d love to stage plays and act in them occasionally because I feel that the stage is the mother of the screen. You can gauge the reaction of the audience immediately and manage to rectify the defects you may have unwittingly made, because you are in direct contact with them unlike in films. But as far as modeling is concerned, take it from me; I have decided to call it quits.” 

Parveen Babi says that she is greatly indebted to Mr B.R.Ishara for what she is today. “I consider myself very lucky to have started my career in films as his protégé. What I like most about him is his strict adherence to schedules and perseverance. It was he who heralded the era of new wave films with the advent of his film Chetna. We can expect more masterpieces from him in future too. He has taught me what acting really is. As a director, he left it to me to improvise and readily agreed to what other people in the unit suggested occasionally to improve the scenes, instead of standing on false prestige. I am what I am today only because of him. It was a great pleasure to work with him. He’s an example of a rare genius. However, it is absurd to link us together romantically because we are very good friends.”