When Parveen Babi was not comfortable with dancing on screen but said ‘If Zeenat can do it, so can I’

Before she joined films, Parveen Babi did modelling for a year in 1972. Soon she appeared as the lead with the film Charitra (1973) in which cricketer Salim Durrani also made his debut. While the film didn’t do well, it launched Parveen’s career. She began appearing in more films including Majboor (1974) and Deewaar (1975), which became her breakthrough in the mainstream. For her 69th birth anniversary on April 4, a look back at the time when the actor was not confident about singing and dancing for the big screen. Later, when she saw another colleague, Zeenat Aman appearing in songs, it made her feel that she could do it too. Also read: Kabir Bedi on relationship with Parveen Babi: ‘Deeply cared for her but couldn’t prevent her breakdown’

While her initial films did not succeed at the box office, reviewers thought the actor had promise, even if she wore unflattering costumes. In the mid 70s to early 1980s, Parveen and Zeenat would go on to become some of the most stylishly dressed female actors on the screen. Eventually as her stardom grew, she realised that she was required to do little onscreen to become popular, especially while appearing opposite her male co-stars who got better parts. She felt that she earned a lot of money for doing little work.

The actor was known for being quite candid in her interviews and she had mentioned that she was embarrassed about singing and dancing around trees. In the biography Parveen Babi by Karishma Upadhyay, it was revealed that Parveen only felt better about lip-syncing and dancing in songs after she saw Zeenat do the same. In a 1976 interview with Stardust magazine, she had said to herself, “If Zeenat can do it, so can I.” They even went to work together in the films Ashanti (1982) and Ameer Aadmi Ghareeb Aadmi (1985).

That same year, she also became the first Bollywood female actor to grace the cover of Time’s July issue. The cover made history and the actor was only 27 when she appeared on it. Some of her notable films include Kaala Patthar (1979), Do Aur Do Paanch (1980), Shaan (1980), Kranti (1981), Kaalia (1981), Namak Halaal (1982), Khud-Daar (1982), Razia Sultan (1983) and Karm Yudh (1985). Her last film was Iraada (1991). She died on January 20, 2005; she was only 50.