For all the news that surfaces in Bollywood on a regular basis, there are still some rumors that have never been confirmed – and things we may never know the truth about. I call these the Unsolved Bollywood Mysteries because no matter how much has been written on the subjects, we still don’t know the truth. Can someone please step up and give us the answers to these Bollywood mysteries?
1. What happened to Parveen Babi?
A popular yesteryear actress, Parveen Babi suddenly left the industry at the peak of her career. She returned to Mumbai six years later, completely unrecognizable, and making claims that Amitabh Bachchan (among several others) had tried to kill her. Years later, she claimed to have evidence on Sanjay Dutt in regards to the 1993 bomb blasts case, but never showed up in court to present her evidence (she said she feared she would be killed). In 2005, she was found dead in her apartment, and the police believed she could have been dead for around 72 hours before her body was discovered.
In 2006, director Mahesh Bhatt – who had an affair with Parveen Babi – made the film Woh Lamhe, which was based on her life. During the promotions of the film, Mahesh gave interviews where he opened up more about his life with Parveen Babi. He spoke about her debilitating illness and the evening he returned to their house to find her cowering in a corner, knife in hand and whispering, “They are coming to kill us. Close the door quickly!” What exactly happened to Parveen Babi in those years, and especially her later years after she and Mahesh Bhatt split, no one knows.
2. Did Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan really have an affair?
The chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha remains unparalleled. But did this chemistry translate itself into an off-screen romance as well? Allegedly, their romance began on sets of Do Anjaane, and continued through a number of hit films together. They apparently began spending a lot of time together, which raised eyebrows. But the affair ended in Silsila, when (in an unbelievable casting coup), Rekha starred in a film with both Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan that paralleled their real life.
So if they did have an affair, why did it end? Is it because Amitabh was never serious? Was it the sanctity of marriage? Was it because Rekha realized she would always be ‘the other woman’? No one knows.
3. Is Rekha in a relationship with her manager, Farzana?
Enigmatic as she is, Rekha just has to appear on this list twice – and this time for her alleged relationship with manager, Farzana. Apparently, Farzana is the only one allowed in Rekha’s house, and the person who Rekha spends the most time with. Many believe that they’re actually in a relationship, but Rekha never answers that question directly – she usually just brushes it away with a “how do you define a relationship?” or “how do you give a relationship a label?”
All we know is that, throughout everything in Rekha’s life – all the highs and lows – Farzana was the one person who was always by her. So regardless of whether they’re in a relationship or not, if there’s one person who knows the answers to the mystery that is Rekha, it’s Farzana.
4. Why did Abhishek and Karisma’s engagement get called off?
Abhishek Bachchan and Karisma Kapoor announced their engagement on Amitabh Bachchan’s 60th birthday, but soon after that, news surfaced that the engagement had been called off. What’s the reason for that, nobody knows. Reports have said it could be because of a clash between the two moms, a tiff between the families during wedding planning, or Babita’s lack of confidence in Abhishek’s financial future.
In any case, the two are married now – to different people, of course – but every once in a while someone makes a comment on their engagement and we end up wondering what really went down there.
5. Why did John Abraham and Bipasha Basu break up?
After being together for a decade, the news that John Abraham and Bipasha Basu have split came out of left field. Of course, it generated a lot of media curiousity as well – but no one knows the real answer as the two have not spoken about it in public. Reports suggest that it could be because of John’s hesitancy to commit, but there are other rumors as well saying that Bipasha cheated on him.
What was big enough to break a ten-year long relationship, we may never know.