Parveen Babi birth anniversary: Rare photos of the Bollywood diva

Parveen Babi was probably the most glamorous actor Bollywood has ever had. She ruled tinseltown between 1970s and early 1980s, and worked with the top actors in a career spanning almost two decades. The model-turned-actor made her acting debut in 1973 with the film Charitra and went on to do nearly 50 films. Her most popular onscreen pairing was with Amitabh Bachchan with whom she delivered a dozen hits like Deewar, Namak Halaal, Shaan, Kaala Patthar and Suhaag. She was also the first Indian to appear on the cover of Time magazine. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi's last screen appearance was in 1990 film Iraada. Staying unmarried throughout her life, she continued to live in her posh Mumbai penthouse until her last days. Parveen died of multi-organ failure on January 20, 2005. (Photo: Express Archives)

On her 70th birth anniversary today, here's a look back at Parveen Babi's life in these rare pictures from Express Archives. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Ranjeet in a still from Kamyaab. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Shatrughan Sinha appeared in several films including Jwalamukhi. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Shashi Kapoor worked in films like Kranti, Deewar, Suhaag and Do Aur Do Paanch. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi with Randhir Kapoor. (Photo: Express Archives)

Multi starrer Amar Akbar Anthony is one of the cult films of Bollywood. Parveen Babi in a still from the film. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi worked with Mithun Chakraborty in Ashanti (1982). (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Sanjay Khan share an offscreen moment on the sets of Aatanka. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi and Zeenat Aman shared screen space in Ashanti. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi filming an action sequence in Ashanti. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Dev Anand worked in the film Bullet. The two are seen here with director Vijay Anand. (Photo: Express Archives)

Bad Aur Badnaam (1984) had Parveen Babi pairing up with Sanjeev Kumar. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Jeetendra in Bond 303. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi with the ensemble cast of Chor Police including Vinod Mehra and Bindiya Goswami. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi worked with Rajesh Khanna in Chalta Purza. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Naseeruddin Shah in a still from Dil Aakhir Dil Hai. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Hema Malini in Do Aur Do Panch. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi, Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Hema Malini, V Shantaram and others on the sets of Kranti. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi in a song sequence in Mangal Pandey. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi seen with Amol Palekar. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi along with Sahir Ludhianvi, Danny Denzongpa, Mala Sinha, Rajendra Kumar, BR Chopra and others at an event. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi acted with Shammi Kapoor in Mama Bhanja. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi along with Rishi Kapoor, Asrani and Ranjeet in the film Gunahgaar. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi dressed as a man along with Randhir Kapoor in Mama Bhanja. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi on the sets of The Burning Train, co-starring Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna and Hema Malini. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi and Amitabh Bachchan in a still from Shaan. (Photo: Express Archives)

Parveen Babi with Shekhar Suman in her later days, after she quit acting. (Photo: Express Archives)