Sridevi with Parveen Babi in Jaani Dost

Born on April 4, Parveen Babi was a 'beauty queen' (if you remember the song?!). Today is her birth anniversary and she's truly an icon of Indian cinema who changed the restricted box that pigeon holed leading ladies in. 

She was modern, fearless, wore contemporary fashion, was no damsel in distress, she showed agency, sexual liberation and, female empowerment without standing on a soapbox. Her western-wear and flair was attainable (Zeenat Aman did something similar but Z's body was perfection--impossible to replicate!). 

Its hard to believe Sridevi and Parveen Babi crossed paths as they were icons of different eras and Parveen was a decade older, but they worked briefly in one film together, Jaani Dost, paired with Dharmendra and Jeetendra respectively. 

While it was common to pit one actress after another (still is!), the two got along famously. Sridevi was just stepping into Bollywood and, tragically, Parveen was stepping out due to mental health issues and self-sabotaging paranoia brought on by her then undiagnosed schizophrenia. Later it came to light all that ailed and failed her, and she died in such tragic circumstances. 

But let's remember Parveen Babi as the gorgeous and glamorous icon that she was. 

RELATED FEATURES

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• Archive of Sridevi and Parveen Babi images here.
• Archive of Jaani Dost here. 
• Sridevi in 1983 here.