Mahesh Bhatt speaks his heart out on Parveen Babi

Mahesh Bhatt speaks about his relationship with Parveen Babi.

“I was watching the last scene of ‘Woh Lamhe’ in my editing room when it dawned on me why human beings have always tried to keep their dead alive – we try to keep them alive in order to keep them with us. ‘Woh Lamhe’ is my last good bye to the memories of Parveen Babi. A woman whom I loved and lost.

Nostalgia is pain. The day Parveen died, I realised that despite the claims I made to myself, her memory had not withered within me with the passage of time.

Praveen’s breakdown is an old story. But I wonder if anyone could imagine what it is like to live with a person who is going mad.

Parveen BabiThe morning I left Parveen’s house before it all began comes back to haunt me. She was off to her shoot for Prakash Mehra’s film… and she kissed me good-bye. Little did I know that it was the last time I would see her as the Parveen that I knew.

How can I ever forget that heartbreaking image of her, when I walked in to the house that evening, and found Parveen, in make up and a filmy costume, cowering in a corner, with a knife in her hand, shivering with fear?

She looked like an animal, one that I had never seen before. ‘Close the door Mahesh,’ she whispered. ‘They are coming to kill us. Close the door quickly!’

And with those words ended my days of love and splendour, sin and passion with Parveen. I was looking into the eyes of madness and the face of death. Because the person that I knew had died, and with that our relationship, as we had known it, died too.

Parveen’s illness was genetic. The chances of her recovery were slim. It was in those terrible times that I discovered for myself that it is we who push the so-called ‘mentally disturbed’ to commit suicide.

Our attempt in this film is not just to make you grieve, but to leave an indelible memory of the essence of an exceptional woman who lived in another time and place.

‘Woh Lamhe’ has erupted from the deepest part of my being. And that part of me was triggered suddenly by Parveen’s death and the subsequent discovery of a tape, which my daughter Pooja found in my first wife’s house.

Parveen Babi - oldThe tape contained a letter that Parveen had recorded and sent me, in which she talked about her approaching illness, her loneliness and her need to get out of the entertainment business. The silences between her words spoke to me more eloquently than her words did.

The only regret I have is that I couldn’t see her illness coming. Looking back, I realise now that there were so many signs that I just failed to read.

Suddenly, she bathed, dressed herself in a white kurta pyjama, rolled a small mat on to the carpet and did something I had never seen her do in my three and a half years with her. She began her ‘namaaz’.

The sight was mesmerising. Her silhouette against the glow of the morning sky, her trembling lips reciting the prayers, her tears of grief metamorphosing into fervent tears of devotion… still play on the screen of my memory.

I think it was the killings of 1969 that she was referring to … You do not know what it is to lie curled up under a pile of mattresses, fearing that any moment the mob could stop the vehicle, pull me out and rape me,’ she said in a tone that sent a shiver down my spine.

When I first started to write and make movies, I felt everything could be explained. Now I see how untrue it would be if I claim to have been able to tell you the story of my life with Parveen Babi.

Life does not end. But films do. We leave the characters of a movie at the zenith of their lives or in the hours of their deaths, and there they remain frozen in time.”

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113 Comments

  • hi its so sad to hear this! i am very curious to see this movie!!!! i love mahesh bhatts movie i am sure this one will be super duper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • hey i saw dis movie today…. n its really touching… bt i really wna knw dat d role played by nikhil was of mr.amitabh bachchan’s?? n is dat really true?

  • MAHESH BHATT IS A CHEAT NO.1 AND HE HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT PARVEEN BABI OR MAKE A FILM ON HER. HE IS ALSO BIASED TOWARDS RELIGION AND NOT SINERE TO HIS NATION.

  • The movie s done beautifully..i m sorry 4 her n i sympathise wit her. she was beautiful…wish someone d helped her.

  • wow… ive been waiting to see this movie ever since i saw its first review.. it seems soo touching and sad!! i klove Mahesh Bhatss movies and believe this wil be realy GOO!! i feel sorry for the both of them… i wish someone actually understood her and tied to help..

  • just wanna ask a question….i saw the movie….WOH LAMHE it was awesome…i was in tears while watching that movie it really touched my heart..its shown that aditya(mahesh bhat’s char) made a film wid sana(parveen babi)..which was a hit….was that so in the real life i mean wat was the movie name in which mahesh bhatt directed parveen babi..??never heard of it…

  • Today i saw the movie and i think it was pretty good. I never knew anything about the disease of parveen babi or about her death. After watching the movie I think it was very sad that she died like this. Also I would like to know that nikhil in the film was pointing out to which actor in real life.

  • d movie is superb. kangana ia tooo gud n so gorgeous. she has really played d part of parveen babi well. shiney too was gud. d movie was really touchin. but i can say ths much tht mahesh bhatt is a big time liar- love i lost…wht a hypocrite…………neways who cares, d only thng wht an audience wants is gud movie n he has given it.

  • i feel sad after reading the story…indeed she was a beautiful women.i feel you should have helped her in days when she needed the most of you….i think you did not do justice to your love.

  • Hello,

    I saw the movie last evening. It was really touching. I was in tears while watching the movie. Both Kangana & shiney were too gud. Like others even i am very curious to know who nikhil is in real life.

  • the story line might be inspired by the real story of praveen babi…bt i guess there were lotta diversions from reality in between…the movie is good..but surely could have been put together in a better way..
    i dunt think ‘nikhil’ is amitabh bachan…i mean she did almost went crazy coz of his luv…bt dunt think he ever treated her like tht….any facts ny1 wants to share on this..?

  • I have seen the movie today and it had a big impact on me after 3 hours also. So I started to read about Parveen Babi. The biographies and bits and pieces from other stories I got somewhat suggest a different story of her. But some basic things looked correct in the movie. In movie it was shown that Aditya gets a big break by directing a movie casting Sana. In real life Mahesh had never directed Parveen. But in 1982 Mahesh Bhatt had directed a movie called Arth which seems to depict his extra marital affair with Parveen. I havent watched this movie, so I dont know until what level this movie has shown the life of Parveen. But apparently, Parveen couldnt stay in India because of this movie and had left to US to accompany Mr UG Krishnamurthi (a spiritual guru). Later Mahesh Bhatt had gone to US may be to meet her (in the movie aditya takes sana to goa). Even Mahesh Bhatt had written a book on Mr. U.G. Krishnamurthi in 1991. It is called “U.G. Krishnamurti: A Life”. it got published in 1996 and you can see the photos of Parveen and Mahesh with Mr. Murthi, seperately, at http://www.well.com/user/jct/bphotos/ugvalp%7E2.htm
    During this period of 1983-1991 (may be till 1996 also, I am guessing) she must be in good touch with Mahesh, but after that till 2002 her story is not known to outsiders. It seems she had a very close friends circle and did not socialise much. After 2002 she came back to India and started accusing that some big producers and actors including Amitabh Bachchan were trying to kill her. In that case, the charecter Nikhil in the movie must be Amitabh Bachchan. It was roumored that she had affairs with Danny Denzongpa, Kabir Bedi, Amitabh Bachchan and Mahesh Bhatt, in which Mahesh has confirmed the one with him.
    There are some parts of the movie where the writer (Mahesh Bhatt himself) had taken a lot of liberty and made the story interesting. But the director of the movie had really done a wonderful job in putting those scenes on the screen (I am sure Mahesh was there behind the director all the time). All in all, the movie is so touching that it haunts you for a long time and makes you try to know the real story behind. I am still in the middle of the research and please excuse me for any wrong conclusions or faulty facts. I still wonder, how come Mahesh Bhatt’s life is full of noteworthy episodes. Arth, Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi, Zakhm and now Woh Lamhe are all related to episodes in his life. One more movie Ankahee with Aftab, Esha and Amisha is also an episode from the life of Vikram Bhatt…. I am waiting for the episodes of the life of Puja Bhatt and Mukhesh Bhatt… other famous Bhatts from the family…

  • hey hats off to u VAMSI..really impressed with watever research u have done..i truly and totally agree wid u dat after watchin the movie one wud have an impact on my mind..i watchd da movie last sunday but still was not able to forget..thought of doin some research n then found dis site..i wana know abt her rape that has been shown in the movie ,is dat true?was her mom really greedyas shown? i know dat her mom died b4 parveen babi..i read a lot abt her in newspapers..she left a tape n she stayed all alone..hey was dat true dat she used to c dat gal named rani or was it jus a story?plzzzz do eave a reply..even m keen to know da truth behind her life..regrds..

  • I have seen the movie just two days back and it has affected/touched me so strongly that I really couldn’t sleep properly since then. I really feel very bad for late Parneen Babi and pray for the peace for her soul. Even I am desperate to know who actually was the Nikhil in her real life (i doubt he was Kabir bedi) and which was the movie directed by Mahesh Bhatt ji casting Parveen in ? I had read somewhere that she was admitted in some Mental Asylum for three years, after leaving the industry. Was she really raped ? well, I am really very curious to know some deep realities of her life and so, request you to please let me know more and more about, if you can. Thanks a lot …..

  • Just saw the movie yesterday. Toooo good, it really leaves an impact on ur mind for long. Ur heart goes for Parveen too, but, I doubt was Mahesh Bhatt so genuine in his feelings for Parveen as much as portrayed in the movie by Shiney. Shiney is too good in the role & his look is soooo intense. I guess, this film industry which is so appealing on the exterior is very very bad & cruel in the interior.

  • Who Lamhe ws a rely touchn movie !! n its rely sad too… ! hope no1 has 2 go thru wt she had to..n if mahesh batt rely loves parveen babi as much as shiny ahuja lovd kangana …hats of to him !

  • hey i watched the movie last night… and feel i am going crazy myself with all of this… the movie says something and internet says something..and mr.mahesh something. i think i shall check my self for schizophrenia.

  • i am curious to know whats the true story but doubt i will get the true picture..all together the movie is superb and deserves an award. hope it will get one.

  • best movie i hav ever seen in my life,telling from my heart.this kind of thing can happen to anybody in any other way,so take it as a message that dont go far away where u will find urself lost

  • Woh lamhe is an awesome movie.it ws so touchin.i wept 4 3 hours during the movie.its the best movie i have ever seen in my life.Shiney ahuja is the best actor in the industry today.he is so natural on screen,as if he”s going through all the pains.as 4 mahesh bhatt he”s done a swell job.bt who”s dis nikhil?m sure amitabh bachchan.

  • I watched the movie 2 days ago, and I repeat the sentiments of the viewers above. The movie leaves a mark on the viewer and haunts the viewer even after it’s over. No doubts, the script has been modified from the original life of Parveen Babi. She died in her apartment and not in a hospital. No one was there when she died, no one even knew she was dead until two days after her sad death. There is no mention of any other characters in Parveen’s life, like Amitabh Bachan. There is no mention of the accusations she made after she came back from USA about people wanting to kill her. In the movie, after her return, she is in the hospital and passes away.

    Shiny and Kangana specially were super in their performances. Kanaga, oh man, she is an actress to watch out for, if it weren’t for these actors in the movie, all of us here on this forum perhaps wouldn’t be so much interested in Parveen Babi’s life! Too good, just too good. May her soul rest in peace. My heart went out for her, what a terrible life. This tells you that fame and fortune do not mean a lively and peaceful life.

  • Oh man!! if this movie is based on Parveen Babi and Mahesh Bhatt’s relationship, then this really is touching, but what I can’t really understand is how come Mr. Bhatt never tried to make this story when Parveen Babi was alive? What he really did to save her life from her mental illness when she was alive, she came back to Mumbai in 2002 and was found dead in mysterious circumstances at her Mumbai residence in January 2005. So my question is what Mr. Bhatt tried to do to save her life during that time i.e. from 2002 until 2005. If Mr. Bhatt knew that she was suffering from a mental illness, how come he never helped her during that time. Unfortunately, P. Babi is no longer alive to tell audience about her side of story, and even if she was alive how many people would have believed her anyways? because I remember reading article in which she confessed that Mr. Al Gore (ex vice president of United States) wanted to kill her. Other thing I don’t understand about this movie is how come Mr. Bhatt never tried to make such movie about his publicized relationship when Ms. Babi was alive? Ms. Babi was rumored to have relationship with Kabir Bedi and Danny Denzongpa, if thats true then I don’t think that day is far when Mr. Bedi or Mr. Denzongpa would try to make some claim to make a movie based on their relationship with her. But the question remains if Mr. Bhatt really loved Parveen how could he let her die in mysterious circumstances, instead helping her during the time when she got back in India?

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