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Was Parveen Babi removed from 'Silsila' due to her mental illness? Hanif Zaveri says she called it Amitabh Bachchan's game

Was Parveen Babi removed from 'Silsila' due to her mental illness? Hanif Zaveri says she called it Amitabh Bachchan's game

TOI Entertainment Desk / etimes.in / Updated: Mar 19, 2025, 01:09 IST

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Was Parveen Babi removed from 'Silsila' due to her mental illness? Hanif Zaveri says she called it Amitabh Bachchan's game

Bollywood actress Parveen Babi is undoubtedly one of the most revered personalities in showbiz. Her demise in 2005 left fans heartbroken. The actress was once considered for the lead role in Amitabh Bachchan’s classic film Silsila, but the makers later decided to remove her, believing she had mental health issues.
In a recent interview on the podcast Meri Sahelli, senior author and film historian Hanif Zavery revealed the lesser-known truth about Parveen’s unusual behaviour on the sets of 'Kaalia'. He stated that Amitabh Bachchan had to contact Yash Chopra to reconsider casting Parveen in a large-scale project like Silsila.
According to Zavery, Parveen was highly possessive of her costume for 'Silsila' and insisted on keeping it with her. She took all of her costumes to Kashmir for the shooting of Kaalia and later showed them to her close friend and cinematographer, Pravin Bhatt. When he asked her why she had carried all of them from Mumbai to Kashmir, Parveen, without hesitation, told him that someone might steal them if she left them in Mumbai.

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“Pravin Bhatt felt that she had mental health issues. A situation arose where Pravin Bhatt’s room was a little far from Parveen Babi’s room in the hotel. One day, Parveen Babi started crawling towards his room because she felt that if she walked, she would fall. That’s when he was certain that she was mentally disturbed. She was crawling from one room to another, which made him realise that she had mental problems," he shared.

Following this, Amitabh Bachchan arrived in Kashmir for the shoot of Kaalia and also noticed something unusual in Parveen’s behaviour. He immediately called Yash Chopra and urged him to come to Kashmir. Upon his arrival, Yash observed that Parveen Babi's face was swollen and that she no longer suited the character for 'Silsila'.
“Chopra approached Parveen and told her that there had been significant script changes, resulting in a much smaller role for her. ‘I cannot cast you in such a minor role. I am removing you from the film, but we will create a full-fledged film with you in the future,�?he told her, making an excuse to separate her from the project. However, this deeply affected Parveen. She believed Amitabh Bachchan was behind it all,�?Zavery added.
According to him, Big B’s actions were intended to safeguard a large-scale project, after which Rekha was cast in the film. The makers believed that including Jaya Bachchan alongside Rekha would enhance the film’s impact due to the ongoing love triangle speculation. Thus, they proceeded with Amitabh, Rekha, and Jaya.

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