Kabir Bedi asked wife Parveen Dusanj to 'change her name' to avoid confusion with Parveen Babi, she said 'How dare you?'

Actor Kabir Bedi has said that he had once asked his wife, Parveen Dusanj, to consider changing her name, because he had already 'had a Parveen' in his life. He was in an 'intense' and 'volatile' relationship with actor Parveen Babi, whose life was marred by mental illness.

In an interview, he said that his then partner and now wife, also named Parveen, dismissed his request. But, he said, he has now taking to calling her 'V'.

He told Bollywood Hungama, "I said, 'I've had a Parveen in my life, would you mind changing your name or something, because people get confused.' And of course, she had this very British (reaction), 'How dare you ask me to change my name?'"

He continued, "But when things went on, and she came to India and realised that Parveen (Babi) had been a major part of my life, in people's consciousness, I started calling her 'V'. My longest relationship has been with Parveen (Dusanj), we've been together for 15 years, married for six of those years, and it's a beautiful, fitting climax to my life."

Also read: Kabir Bedi reveals how he ended open marriage with Protima Gupta to be with Parveen Babi: 'She burst out crying'

In the same interview, he said that Parveen was 'capable of great love', but had 'her problems which caused great traumas.' "The love that I felt for her was extraordinary and intense," he said, adding that seeing her suffer, 'because of her mental problems', was 'emotionally exhausting'.

Kabir will soon be releasing his book, Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor. The book was launched in a virtual presentation that also featured actor Salman Khan. Kabir recently said to the media that he has "poured (his) heart into this book about (his) turbulent professional and emotional life."