Veteran Actor Kabir Bedi HIGHLIGHTED How His Open Marriage To Protima Gupta Led To LACK OF INTIMACY And Greater ANXIETY Later And Fell In Love With Parveen Babi, Who Filled That Void

Kabir Bedi, a seasoned actor in Bollywood, has frequently been in the news due to his personal life. In 2016, the actor, who had previously wed Promita Gupta, wedded Parveen Dusanj for a third time. He got married to Nikki in 1992 and separated from her in 2005 after divorcing Protima in 1974. However, did you know that while he was still married to Protima, he had fallen in love with Parveen Babi, one of Bollywood's most popular actresses?

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The actor wrote about his open marriage to Gupta in his book 'Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor,' which was published in 2021. He also talked about how he told Gupta he loved Parveen Babi and expressed his desire to leave their union and be with the actress.

Kabir Bedi opened up about the same by writing, “Our open marriage may have seemed like a good idea at first. In the end, it only caused me greater anxiety. It had led to a lack of intimacy between us. I didn’t feel the love that I wanted, the caring and sharing I needed. Nor was I able to give it. The old magic had gone. I was feeling alone, empty and dejected. Parveen Babi filled that void. She was a ravishingly beautiful actress with fair skin, long black hair and dark, mesmerising eyes. Until then, I’d always thought of her as ‘the girlfriend of Danny Denzongpa’.”

“He was a good-looking Sikkimese actor, two years younger than me, a year older than Parveen. In the years ahead, he would become a highly successful villain in Bollywood and be nominated for many Filmfare Awards. Parveen began her rapid rise to stardom during their four years together. Her living openly with Danny, wearing jeans and smoking in public, had given her a bohemian image in India. But, morally, she was a conservative Gujarati girl. While the rest of the Juhu gang talked about the ‘free s*x’ preaching of Guru Osho, she believed in sexual fidelity. It’s what I was looking for when I fell in love with her.”

Then Kabir Bedi explained how he told Protima about his feelings for Parveen Babi, and she responded by telling him, "Please go, our open marriage is over!"

“There was no easy way to break the news (to Protima). ‘I’m going over to Parveen’s tonight,’ I said softly when she came in. ‘Parveen’s!’ she repeated in surprise. I could see her computing what must have happened. ‘But I’ve only just arrived. Can’t you stay tonight at least?’ I shook my head. ‘No, I have to be with her tonight … and every night.’ At that moment, she realised that our relationship had changed forever. She let out a deep breath and looked at me. ‘Do you love her?’ I nodded, not without sadness. ‘Does she love you?’ she asked, her voice a notch higher.”

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The extract from his book reads, “’Yes,’ I said gruffly, wanting to cry. I knew I was ending a relationship where we’d shared life-changing experiences together, happy and unhappy, moral and immoral, for six tumultuous years. But I didn’t want to show vulnerability. I had to be strong to end it. I held her by the shoulders to embrace her goodbye. She clung to me and burst out crying. Then she sat down on the bed and sighed deeply before she spoke. ‘Please leave me alone now,’ she said in a firm voice as tears welled in her eyes. ‘Leave me alone. Please go!’ Our ‘open marriage’ was over.”