Caveat: Those who respect high moral values in life kindly avoid this post.

Close on the heels of my earlier review of The Fame Game’ cannot but made me ruminate over the rise and fall of two popular actresses of Hindi films in not so recent years. Yes. These are real life stories of three celebrated fashionable actors caught in the cruel web of life.

I happened to read about the popular actress, the celebrated Marlyn Monroe. I cannot help but wonder at the unpredictable and sinister games of fate in some popular personality’s lives. A girl brought up in an orphange, she claimed to the top in Hollywood with her oomph and sex appeal. Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction and mood disorders. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DeMaggio to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized, and both ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbaturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide.

After reading this I cannot but think of the two absolutely westernized stars of the Indian screen and their lives; Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. None can call them very talented or versatile. But, they always made their presence felt for some specific reason; glamour and sensuality. If not for the character, they played the way they dressed or appeared on the screen. They were always on the news for all wrong reasons; mostly their affairs with some men who were popular or notorious.

Zeenat Aman made an entry with grandeur through the Dev Anand movie ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ and the ever green song ‘Dum maro dum’. She played the role of a lost sister of Dev Anand who joined the ‘hippie gang’ which was dreaded and talked about a lot for its notoriety. Zeenat moved up with her seductive looks and fancy dresses paired with all popular male stars like Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan etc. But, later her closeness to the Khans brought her the nemesis and the worst being her marriage to Mazhar Khan. In the bargain at one point she lost her popularity and also one eye due to brutal violence on her. In recent times, I have seen her in some talk shows and music programs. She looked fine, spoke well but was pathetic to me. Probably a fall, which she had taken on her stride.

Parveen Babi during her times of 70s and early 80s was considered as the most glamorous fashion icon and was one among the highly paid actors. She too featured with all the popular actors of that time. She was also the first Bollywood actress to appear on the cover of the popular American ‘Time’ magazine.

Though she didn’t marry anyone she had liasons with Danny Danzongpa, Kabir Bedi and later Mahesh Bhatt. But, all of a sudden she disappeared and appeared after years as a grotesque mentally deranged person. Battered by both multiple medical and mental complications, Parveen Babi faced a miserable unsung death. What a fall!

True. All blames are on these individuals only for their hubris, waywardness, misdeeds and the unbridled freedom. But, why should they choose a life which didn’t have a hold or future?

According to me, the only answer is ‘The cruelty of Fate’ or ‘The absurdity of Life.’