Mahesh Bhatt has often spoken about his relationship with the late actress Parveen Babi. Parveen Babi was battling undiagnosed mental disorders in the 1970s. Mahesh Bhatt dated Parveen while he was already married to Kiran Bhatt. In a recent chat, the filmmaker opened up about the actress’s ‘spiral into madness’. During an appearance on The Himanshu Mehta Show, he said, “Prior to coming to this interview, I was writing about her final spiralling into what is called madness. All attempts were made to make her see that once she had that kind of breakdown, there’s no way she should try and fit herself back into this fiercely competitive space.” He added, “She should have withdrawn, as she had a physiological vulnerability. But I think once you have tasted this business, the high of the arc lights, it’s very difficult to turn your back on it. But what happened to her was an unimaginable tragedy.” Mahesh also recalled Parveen’s words: “Darr lagta hai (I feel scared).” He said, “Behind closed doors, she was a simple woman from Junagadh, Gujarat, who wanted to put oil in her head and cook food at home. But the clothes she used to wear were very glamorous, so that she looked like a superstar. But on the inside, she was a simple girl.” Previously, in a chat with BBC Hindi, Mahesh said, “I saw her go through her collapse. I went through it with her. And when you see someone breaking down in front of you… I saw her leave in the morning for her shoot with her make-up on, but when I came back in the evening, she was shivering and sitting in a corner like an animal. She kept saying, ‘Someone is going to kill me.’ She was suffering from schizophrenia.” The filmmaker said that the relationship ended on a painful note. He mentioned that while he tried to help Parveen, “such kind of diseases take a toll”. The filmmaker said that Parveen was nearly 26 years old when they started dating, and her condition was already severe. However, the actress started feeling better after meeting UG Krishnamurti, who told Mahesh, “He told me that it is impossible for you to stay together because you will never leave movies and if she keeps doing movies, she will be destroyed.” Mahesh and Parveen dated for nearly three years. Parveen Babi passed away on 20 January 2005, at 55. She died in her apartment in Mumbai. An autopsy stated that she died from organ failure and diabetes. DISCLAIMER: This news piece may be triggering. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata).