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

  • Well, the movie is realy touching, and after reading all teh above comments i just wanna say that Mahesh Bhatt has never said that it is completely her story rather he told it is based on her life. Movie and life are two different thing and they cant be made same. They always have to take care of all teh people who are watching movie and it shud not be boring as wella s something which rolld down teh box office .. kuch to masala hota hi hai movie mein so Folks, take it as a movei and not as a real story although it is based upon one. they cant show everythig real because it will hurt u and more over “TRUTH IS ALWAYS BITTER”.

  • i just watched the movie, as many of you are saying that she was left to die alone, and also in one of his interviews he did mention that after kabir bedi he came to her life, so nikhil must be kabir bedi, it is sad to see a movie star so beautiful die like she did alone, can you imagine her body was laying there for two days and no one knew and now there is mahesh bhatt making movie about her life, where was he when she needed him, by just claiming her body and putting her in the grave does’nt mean that he can make a movie about her i’m sure when he heard that she died the idia came in his mind and he went and collected her body, well with this movie he shows how careless he was towards her that he left her and never looked back untill she died.

  • I saw “woh lamhe”… the movie is too good n touching… I cried a lot watching that….. Itz very hurting to think tht itz a true story vased on an existing relationship…. The movie haunts me a lot… n whenever i think of it…..am in sobs… Shiney n Kangana were just superb…..

  • I’ve just watched the movie and suddenly i became more curious to know about the life of Parveen Babi. People think that when you are a celebrity you are on the top of the world. But behind that smile and there may be lots of problems and sadness. Lets take the life of Dalida (a singer) who got married several times and whenever she quit her husband, the latter committed suicide. At the end, she felt so depressed and start believing that she is very unlucky for his lovers, then she herself commited suicide.

    I should say that the movie WOH LAMHE is reallt outstanding and touching. I was mesmerised for some hours. Could not stop thinking about. Besides Shiney Ahuja and Kangana Ranaut were just fantastic in their roles. Hats off to you Mahesh Ji. Good luck

  • BHATT SAHEB , I AM A BIG FAN OF YOUR, I SAW EVERY MOVIES U HAVE MADE AND THEY ALL SPEAK LOT OF TRUTH AND REALITY.I HAVE SEEN WOH LAMHE , WHICH IS TRULLY TOUCHY, SPECIALLY WHEN U KNOW THAT ITS BASED ON REALITY.I DONT KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BEACUSE YOU HAVE SUFFERED LOT IN LIFE, BUT STILL CAN IMAGIN GOING THROUGH SUCH MISERABEL CHILDHOOD.YOUR MOTHER WAS VERY STRONG LADY. THEREFORE MY WISH IS , WHEN I BECAME AN ACTOR, I WANT MY FIRST FILM TO BE YOURS.

    TRULY A BIG FAN

  • BHATT SAHEB YOU ARE TRULY A DEVOTED AND STRONG MAN, WHO I SALUT.
    SPECIALLY AFTER WATCHING YOUR FILM WHICH SHOW TRUE BITTER TASTE OF REALITY HAVE INSPIRED ME ALOT TO ACT AND EXPRESS MY LIFE STORY.
    YOUR WOH LAMHE WAS WONDERFULL , YET PAINFUL.

  • woh lamhe rocks !!!
    its really a touching movie….. i wish i could make a movie like that…. mohit has done a very good job as a director….. movies are a powerful media and such good efforts keep the spirit of movies alive…..

  • I JUST WATCHED THIS MOVIE AND WAS SO OVERCOME WITH EMOTION, IT IS SO BAD THAT THE SYSTEM DOES NOT PROTECT PEOPLE IN THESE SIUATIONS, BOTH THE PERSON WHO IS ILL AND THE CARER! PLEASE TELL US WHAT WAS THE MOVIE HE DIRECTED WITH PARVEEN IN IT. MANY THANKS, LOVE & PEACE TO ALL XX

  • Bogus Mahesh and crocodial tears … and idiotic write up ..
    I am glad Mahesh is a nautanki guy and not a physician .. I would like to know your genetics a bit Mahesh.

    Schizophrenia doesn’t strike at this late age .. it’s a teenage disease and mostly male, schizo’s at late age (25+) are very rare and almost 100% treatable. The treatment has been quiet effective in 90% cases since 1990 or so. I have seen her mid 70’s movies .. she doesn’t look psycho or even depressed.

    She was probably depressed .. not psycho .. Mahesh is a creep at best for f**ing a girl and 3+ years (while probably married on the side) .. and now calling her genetically defective.

    Though I am not surprised that she was depressed .. it was people like Mahesh who were partly responsible.

  • I was trying to get some info about P Babi and I stumbled upon this site.I liked every1’s research and
    views.
    I genuinely feel Mahesh Bhatt is trying to cash from his relationship with Babi.That is what he did when he made Arth.I sw this old man (lecherous one) laughing alongside Mallika sherawat
    in one party putting his hands on her bare legs.
    I have read Protima Bedi’s autobiography in whcih she mentioned about Babi as very insecure and possesive person.She was all alone withour her parents or family by her side and to top it all she was suffering from this disease.
    Protima admits that Kabir had relations with Babi and they both used to stay together.the other guy portrayed in the movie is Amitabh for sure.Because among 4 people mentioned (Kabir,Mahesh,Danny) Amitabh was the only superstar.So its “Amitabh”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    He had relations with Babi but he left her and moved on.I havent watched the movie but would definitely like to watch.

  • It was not very long ago that I heard the actual story between Late Parveen Babi and Mahesh Bhatt, in fact just a week ago when my family and me were returning from our tour of Mahableshwar. My brother a movie enthusiast down for holidays narrated the story of Woh Lamhe to me and in the background the song “chal chale” was playing. We were coming down the enormous slopes of the Mahableshwar mountains, it was getting real dark real fast and the story and the song went hand in hand not to mention the cold chilly breeze blowing from the crevasse of my unclosed window made the experience one never to ever forget.

    After he gave a brief analysis of the story I said to myself “if what he is saying is chilling my spine then I wonder what it would have been like if had to watch the film when it had come out in the theaters?” when I reached Goa I was overwhelmed with the desire to watch “Woh Lamhe” just yesterday I managed to find some time finally to rent the movie. I watched the film and man oh man it was good really good.

    Look I don?t know mister Mahesh if u actually read this entry but let me tell you what some of the above people have written is crap, regardless how true the story was or not you as a filmmaker can portray your movies as you like. Woh Lamhe is truly an amazing movie, and as an aspiring filmmaker, I wish I could make movies like Mahesh ji…what ever hate reviews and mails you have received are not correct, I mean for God sake they don?t know a thing about the whole situation and the way they’ve written is as though they were there with you?ll 24/7.

  • well I love parveen bai from the bottom of my heart …she will live 4ever in my heart ..She is one of the most beautiful woman I ever seen on the screen ..God bless her soul ..RIP

  • WAS THERE ANY PERSON “NIKHIL” AS DEPICTED IN THE MOVIE WOH LAMHE IN PARVEEN JI’S LIFE ?
    MAHESH JI MUST BE KNOWING …. PLSSS LET US KNOW .

  • This prick mb is a big time liar. He made himself look good in the movie when infact he was the one who left babi to die in her misery. He is a big time user and not to be trusted. The nikhil dude is Kabir Bedi 110%

    May PB RIP

  • Parveen Babi truly is a symbol of Bollywood STAR who even appeared on the cover of TIME in 1970’s ! Woh Lamhe was very sad and it was painful watching her go thru the torture….the price she paid for her stardom! The big B was her co-star in all superhits and they were a great pair on the silver screen….not much is written about the real life! Parveen Babi also started writing an autobiography which was published in The Illustrated Weekly in early 1980’s!
    She will always be in our hearts!!

  • i got to say da film was the best love story india has ever made however there were some unnessary seen?s init. i love the way it was made but luv to know the full life story of parven babi. i love that track in it ‘TU JOH NAHI HAI’ and loved the voice of the track.

  • Well after reading all these reviews of people talking about mahesh bhatt and saying hes a liar no disrepect to anyone or anything but if i was to make a movie i wouldnt really put myself as being the bad guy/girl because its human nature to show the good side.. plus its his movie.. i still find it unbelievable though that some people are sooo selfish and so self involved that they dont realise what is happening to people around them and noone helped Late Ms Parveen Bhabi..
    The movie i definately agree it was wicked i loved it and you guys are right it did definately left an impression on my mind.. i think it was a great movie and directors should make more movies about the real lifes of actors as it makes us (the audience) aware that they are only human who have same problems as normal people.. Great Work shame true life doesnt have happy endings..

  • In my opinion, it is a great movie. I think Indians don’t appreciate reality anymore or appreciate genuine emotions or feelings. I really think some parts of this movie might be real. Indian audiences are used to crap and impossible things, ex. Karan Johar and Yash Chopra’s movies. Whoever said schizophrenia starts early and happens to males….well check your facts. Schizophrenia can affect anyone, male/female. Did you know Parveen babi? She could have suffered this ever since the begining but it wasn’t that bad and it grew worse because nobody diagnosed it and she did not receive medication. I think it was a great movie. It may or may not be on Parveen babi’s life but it was da** good. How can you be sure that he left her at the time she most needed him? Maybe she asked him not to help her. I think he really helped her and loved her. He probably did not make this movie earlier because it is what it was…..woh lamhe….a page out of his life. It would have been cheap if this movie would have been made when she was alive, then it would have hurt her more. How would you feel if someone you love made a movie when you were alive and it was about you. If the people i love die, i would make a home movie about them, i think this movie was a very special gesture. He never said he wants to make money from this movie. He wanted to keep her alive even after she was dead. People should try to understand….this man is trying to lay his innermost emotions in front of so many people so they get to know Parveen much better. I think people should appreciate it rather than seeing flaws in it. This movie will be kind of like Taj mahal….a taj mahal for Parveen babi from Mahesh Bhatt. I don’t know about others but i like a momento after something is done or over. Maybe i am just backward but i don’t want a marriage video before it actually happens. Taj mahal was built after his queen died not while she was alive. The pyramids were bulit before the pharohs died but were used after they died. A shiver ran down my spine while i was watching this movie. I loved it.

  • I wanted to know where i can find Parveen Babi’s life story. I am so curious to know about this after watching Woh Lamhe……Its so heart touching…

  • Recently, I have seen the movie . Indeed it was very touching as it was inspired by a true story. I watched the film in a different point of view, trying to put myself in the shoes of Adyta (Mr M Bhatt). No one really knew what happen and can not judge, or make strange allusions about who Nickil really were. The movie was based on true events, like Titanic you can’t expect every single scene to be real. It’s entertianment after all, you need to add some flavour to it. Mr Bhatt was trying to show how Parveen Babi was trying to deal with her mental illness despite being a heroine back then..She was very beautiful but inside very fragile. Who knows what ever happen in their three years relationship.. May be Mr Bhatt has tried every possible way to help her, but as we’ve seen in the movie Sana had been exploited way before she met Adita and the latter had actually saved her. Her illness was genetic and would have manifested anytime.. The movie was adapted inmodern times in order to remind us of how things really are in the bollywoood world. Some actors/resses are being pressured to extreme levels in the name of entertainment. Also a reminder of Schizophrenia, a short lesson of how to deal with the disease. To cut short The movie was an excellent tribute to the little time that Mr Bhatt and Parveen Babi had shared together.. May the almighty have mercy on Parveen babi and may her soul rest in peace..

  • O my Goodneess me, im 18yrs old kind of young to know these sort of actress but as a child i grew up with parents whom used to always watch her films, just found out 2 days ago that she died but today getting all the facts its makes me want to cry what a sad life i wish mahesh would write a book about her life whatever he knew. I so need to watch that film know wo lameh if thats how you spell it. may God bless her soul.

  • i have just watched the film woh lamhe .is it a exactly what happened to her and who is nikhil in the real life story is adi mehesh bhatt? please let me know i really want to know her full life history were can i find rhis from?

  • Woh Lamhe is just too good. Mr. Bhatt is my favorite directer; movie maker. I have never missed any of Mahesh Bhatt movies. He is just a brilliant movie maker. To do a movie on parveen Babi is the best thing he could do to pay tribute to her. The audience has no right to judge anyone because married or not, love just happens, it is not planned and is never in anyone’s agenda.

    If Mr Bhatt was ever to read my comments, i would only congratulate on his great movie making. Do keep it up!!!! I love your movies

  • it was a good and full of emotions and tragedy.i loved it and also cried because not all love stories never accomplish.

  • hi mahesh ji salam

    how r u ? i want your cell number & house address please give i will give you new story about your next film thankds my name is irfan khokhar form pakistan (karachi)

    my cell number is below

    03012600861 it’s my personal number

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