Last Updated:October 19, 2025, 08:07 IST

Pooja Bedi recalls meeting Parveen Babi years later and how the late star’s paranoia had taken over her life — from eating only eggs to fearing contamination.

Pooja Bedi opens up about Parveen Babi’s final years and her growing paranoia.

Even decades after her passing, Parveen Babi’s story continues to evoke both love and heartbreak. Once celebrated as one of Hindi cinema’s most glamorous and intelligent stars, her final years were marked by loneliness and suspicion. Actor Pooja Bedi, daughter of Kabir Bedi, recently opened up about those haunting times and how Parveen seemed to lose touch with reality, convinced that people were out to get her.

‘She Looked So Different…’ Pooja Bedi Recalls Meeting Parveen

Speaking with Siddharth Kannan, Pooja remembered that Parveen had been a constant presence when she was growing up due to her father’s relationship with the actor. Years later, she met Parveen again and was startled by how much she had changed.

“I remember that many years later she had come back to India. Everyone was saying that something was wrong with her. I went to her home; she opened her door, and she looked so different. She had put on a lot of weight, and she had wild hair,” Pooja recalled.

‘I Only Eat Eggs’ — Pooja Bedi’s Troubling Conversation With Parveen Babi

Pooja said that Parveen welcomed her warmly and spoke normally at first, until a sudden moment revealed how deep her paranoia had grown.

“She was so excited to see me and said, ‘Pooja! Hi! Come in.’ Then she gave me a big hug, and we were sitting and chatting, and everything was completely normal. Suddenly, she said, ‘I am sorry that I can’t offer you food because I only eat eggs.’ I asked her why she ate only eggs, and she replied, ‘This is the one thing they can’t tamper with.’ I asked her, ‘Who?’ She said, ‘The Secret Service, or the FBI.’”

Pooja further shared that Parveen believed her makeup and food were being contaminated. “She told me that she doesn’t buy makeup from the markets because someone contaminates it. I asked her, ‘How would someone know what you are going to buy and when you are going to buy it?’ She said, ‘They know everything.’ I immediately thought that there was something extremely wrong that was going on around there. I got really concerned and confused at that point in time,” she added.

Kabir Bedi on Parveen’s Struggles

Kabir Bedi, who once shared a relationship with Parveen, has previously spoken about her mental health battles and his attempts to get her help. During an interview with Filmfare, he said, “I advised Parveen to see someone in London because there were best people to treat her there and also she was away from all this, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She didn’t like the pressure that I was putting on her and, at the same time, her film Amar Akbar Anthony in India became a huge hit.”

Bedi also mentioned that he chose not to defend himself publicly after their breakup because doing so would mean disclosing her condition — something he felt was deeply personal.

Shreyanka Mazumdar

Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring…Read More

Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring… Read More