Parmeshwar Godrej, 70, a socialite and philanthropist who championed many social causes, was suffering from a lung illness and breathed her last at a South Mumbai hospital last night, they said adding that she has been cremated
Parmeshwar Godrej. Pic/AFP
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Parmeshwar Godrej, 70, a socialite and philanthropist who championed many social causes, was suffering from a lung illness and breathed her last at a South Mumbai hospital last night.
Here are some facts about the lady!
A multi-faceted person, Parmeshwar was also referred as a 'style icon' and was well connected with the who's who in the world of entertainment and business.
Parmeshwar had worked with national carrier Air India briefly as an air hostess. She had designed costumes and look for actor Hema Malini in her film 'Dharmatma' (1975) on the request of her good friend Feroz Khan who was the actor, director and producer of the same film.
She had also teamed up with acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur to launch a production house called 'Starlight' in 2000, which was preceded by co-producing the Merchant-Ivory production 'The Perfect Murder' in 1988.
She was known for her work combating AIDS in India through the Heroes Project, an initiative she launched in 2004 with Hollywood actor Richard Gere and support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.
Parmeshwar and Adi married in 1965, and have three children -- daughters Nisa Godrej and Tanya Dubash who are associated with the flagship company Godrej Consumer Products, and son Pirojsha who leads the group's listed realty arm.
Not just the glamour world, her network of friends were from diverse fields and in a recent book, nobel laureate Amartya Sen had spoken richly about her, calling Parmeshwar a 'brilliant conversationalist' and 'wonderful company'.