‘She was afraid that I…’

For the first time, Kabir Bedi opened up about his relationship with Parveen Babi. He shared that media portrayed him as a villain, assuming he left Babi because of her health condition.

In 80s, Kabir Bedi and Parveen Babi’s relationship was quite in limelight. The actress came in his life when his first marriage ended with Odissi dancer Protima Bedi. However, their relationship was short-lived and there were rumours surrounding that Kabir Bedi was the one who broke up, which affected Parveen Babi’s mental health. Now for the first time, the actor shared details about his relationship and the reason behind their split up.

Recently, in an interview with Digital Commentary, Kabir Bedi shared that it wasn't him, but Parveen Babi who decided to end the relationship. The reason was because he wanted her to get medical help because she wasn't doing fine mentally. Recalling the incident, the actor said when they visited London, he started observing that she was becoming paranoid. “That's why our relationship ended because when we came to London after Italy, I saw that his condition was worsening. And it was not acceptable to him, because I knew that if he did not get treatment, his condition would worsen. Or it is because of this that we got separated.” the actor said.

Bedi said that she left him in the fear that he would force her to get treatment. She was also scared that her work might get affected as people in India would know about her condition. He said, “She left him is darr ke ki he will force me to have treatment. Or paranoid mind jo hote hai vo her cheej se darte hai toh usko laga doctor ko pata chal gaya toh vo industry ko bta dega, mera career khatam ho jayega. Toh Parveen Babi left me, I didn’t left her.”

In the same interview, Bedi shared that he was portrayed as a villain because media claimed that he was the one behind their breakup. Moreover, he revealed everyone assumed that he left because Parveen Babi's mental condition got worse. “It is true that the media here, blamed me that I rejected Parveen and hence Parveen got mentally disturbed. The truth was that Parveen had mental problems before.”

In his autobiography, Stories I Must Teel: The Emotional Life of an Actor, Kabir Bedi shared details about his open marriage with Protima Bedi, which ultimately didn’t work after she had an affair with a French guy. It was during this challenging phase when he met Parveen. His book also shares more wider perspective on Parveen Babi’s mental health struggles and her relationships with Danny Denzongpa and Mahesh Bhatt.