“I knew Parveen, both of us had worked in the film Rang Birangi, but even before that I knew her. And I know one incident, a very meaningful incident. Badal Sarkar, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year, he was a very legendary writer of Indian theatre, a theatre person, a lot more. When Badal-da used to come to Mumbai, he used to stay at my place. So once when he had come, he said, ‘Come, let’s go see a shooting. I have never seen a shooting till today.’
I said, ‘Come, let’s go.’ I took him to see a shooting. I took him to Film City. There, a very big set was put up for the film Burning Train, and a song was about to be shot there. I said, what better shooting could there be to see? So I took Badal-da there. As soon as we went inside, onto the set, Parveen was sitting there. As soon as Parveen saw Badal-da, she got up and stood. She came running and touched Badal-da’s feet. I was a little surprised, because people outside of theatre generally didn’t really know Badal-da. So Badal-da told me that Parveen Babi had worked in his classic play Evam Indrajit. And after that, you won’t believe it.
After that, stopping all the shooting, Parveen Babi kept talking with him for two hours about his plays, his literature, and she was talking so much from the heart, one could see all that. So I knew that Parveen. Parveen, who people generally know as the ‘oomph girl’ of that era, and so that was one side. I got to see this side of her too, and I felt that we know so little about people. And this is one example I have given of a painting. I said, I remember that painting where she is standing like a princess, wearing all the costumes and diamond-studded jewellery, but her face is down. Klimt is a very great painter. He has a painting. I always remember Parveen when I see it. So I remember that painting, that the whole figure is a completely glamorous figure. But there is some kind of pinch, or I don’t know, it feels like the sorrow inside, she is not showing it outside.”
Parveen Babi is an actress whom everyone knows as a glamour queen. Stories about her, songs of that kind, in film magazines – but Amol Palekar tells a different story about her, which completely changes her character in our eyes.”I knew Parveen, both of us had worked in the film _Rang Birangi_,
but even before that I knew her. And I know one incident, a very meaningful incident. Badal Sarkar, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year, he was a very legendary writer of Indian theatre, a theatre person, a lot more. When Badal-da used to come to Mumbai, he used to stay at my place. So once when he had come, he said, ‘Come, let’s go see a shooting. I have never seen a shooting till today.’I said, ‘Come, let’s go.
‘ I took him to see a shooting. I took him to Film City. There, a very big set was put up for the film _Burning Train_, and a song was about to be shot there. I said, what better shooting could there be to see? So I took Badal-da there. As soon as we went inside, onto the set, Parveen was sitting there. As soon as Parveen saw Badal-da, she got up and stood. She came running and touched Badal-da’s feet. I was a little surprised, because people outside of theatre generally didn’t really know Badal-da. So Badal-da told me that Parveen Babi had worked in his classic play _Evam Indrajit_
. And after that, you won’t believe it.After that, stopping all the shooting, Parveen Babi kept talking with him for two hours about his plays, his literature, and she was talking so much from the heart, one could see all that. So I knew that Parveen. Parveen, who people generally know as the ‘oomph girl’ of that era, and so that was one side. I got to see this side of her too, and I felt that we know so little about people. And this is one example I have given of a painting. I said, I remember that painting where she is standing like a princess, wearing all the costumes and diamond-studded jewellery, but her face is down. Klimt is a very great painter. He has a painting.
I always remember Parveen when I see it. So I remember that painting, that the whole figure is a completely glamorous figure. But there is some kind of pinch, or I don’t know, it feels like the sorrow inside, she is not showing it outside.”
