Actress Parveen Babi passes away

NDTV: "Babi, was found dead today by the police in her suburban Juhu residence. She was nearly 50. Police had to force open the door to her house after her neighbours complained about the unattended milk packets and newspapers lying outside her house for last two days.

The doctors however said that she was diabetic and her left foot had gangrene. Parveen, who entered films in the early seventies, belonged to the royal Nawab family of Junagadh. Her first break in Bollywood was in 1973, when she landed the lead role in Charitraheen with former cricketer Salim Durrani.

Thereafter, there was no looking back for her. She appeared in Sanjay Khan's film Chandi Sona and shot into limelight with her splendid performance in Deewar along with Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor.

While she was known more as a glamourous heroine than a serious actress, she mesmerised thousands of Bollywood fans for two decades with her performances in blockbusters like Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag and Namak Halaal among others.

However, she had a history of mental illness and confined herself to her house for the last three years after returning from abroad, where she spent a decade. Her last years were spent in virtual isolation, which is sadly reflected in the way she died."