Zeenat Aman birthday special: 5 Interesting and UNKNOWN facts she revealed about the industry on Instagram

The yesteryear actor Zeenat Aman is celebrating her 72nd birthday today, November 19. She was one of the top actresses back in the day and was known for her bold and sensuous avatar. Zeenat ji was popularly known for her roles in Satyam Shivam Sundaram,  Haré Rama Haré Krishna, Don,  Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and many more. Zeenat Aman took everyone by surprise when she made her debut on Instagram in February this year. Moreover, the interesting thing is that she shares old photos of herself while revealing an interesting story that has never been told.

Speaking of which, we have clubbed together some unknown stories that she has revealed on her Instagram. And trust us, they are quite interesting.

Zeenat Aman and her interesting stories on Instagram

When Zeenat Aman vouched to never work with a film’s director

The veteran actor had shared a picture with Amitabh Bachchan and revealed they were all set to roll for a film. However, Big went missing for an hour and so and when he came back, the director thought Zeenat had stalled the shoot. She was extremely heartbroken and asked her team to pack up. But Amitabh ji convinced her to stay and to do the movie.

She wrote, “The lovely producer arrived at my door, followed closely by Mr. Bachchan. “Babs, I know it’s my fault. The man is a fool and he’s drunk. Let it go and let’s get to work,” he said. I accepted Mr. Bachchan’s apology of course but I was still stinging from the unwarranted dressing down I had received. I was in no mood to shoot after that humiliation. When I finally softened and agreed to come back on set, the director threw himself at my feet and begged my forgiveness. It was all rather melodramatic, and though I completed the film, I never worked with that director again.”

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A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

When Zeenat ji broke down into tears during Satyam Shivam Sundaram shoot

Sharing a picture with late Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat revealed how the director wanted the lead to perform a classical dance. But she was not a classical dancer and she thought she would spoil the movie. “But this was my first film under the RK banner, and I was not a classical dancer by any stretch of the imagination. When Rajji narrated the sequence to me, I burst into a flood of tears! I was convinced I would make a fool of myself and sink the entire film. Through hiccups and sobs I explained my predicament to him. Rajji laughed. “What will I do with you convent girls and your two left feet?” he exclaimed.” She recalled the moment. Zeenat ji then said, “He did do something of course. He instructed legendary choreographer Sohanlal to teach me mudras but not any complicated choreography.”

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A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

When Zeenat ji and Dharmendra helped each other with language on Shalimar shoot

She shared some pictures with Dharmendra and revealed that during the shoot of Shalimar, they helped each other with Hindi and English. She wrote, “This film was simultaneously shot in English and Hindi to cater to both audiences. Well, Dharm ji required assistance with his English dialogues and I required help with my Hindi. And so, post the daily shoot you would find each of us with our respective tutors, studiously running our lines for hours!“

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A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

Zeenat Aman on Dev Anand being hurt after dating rumours with Raj Kapoor

Zeenatji revealed that she was hurt and humiliated after Dev Anand’s autobiography mentioned him falling in love with Zeenat. Also, the dating rumours of Zeenat and Raj Kapoor were out. She recalled a story after Dev Anand’s book was released. She wrote, “Years later, in 2007, ‘Romancing with Life’, Dev Saab’s autobiography hit the stands. In it he professed that he was in love with me, and insinuated that Raj ji and I had more than a director-actor equation which broke his heart.”

“To be honest, I was livid. I felt humiliated, hurt and disconcerted that Dev saab, my much older mentor, a person I loved and admired platonically, would not only believe such a story devoid of a shred of truth, but would then go on to publish it for the world to read. For weeks my phone rang incessantly as friends inquired about “what really happened” and shared excerpts from the book. I never did read it though, and in my anger I consigned the copy I was sent to storage in the basement!” She recalled.

Zeenat Aman with Dev Anand

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Image source: Zeenat Aman Instagram

When Dev Anand persuaded Zeenatji’s parents to stay in the city

Zeenat recalled that her parents were planning to leave the country. However, late actor Dev Anand convinced her parents to stay till the shoot of Hare Krishna Hare Ram was completed. She wrote, “My family was ready to depart the country. But Dev saab persuaded my mother and I to delay our travels. So instead we flew to Kathmandu, stayed at the famous Soaltee Hotel, and waited long days to be called to set to shoot! I was frothing at the bit by the time it was finally time for my scenes. The first of which was a bus sequence. It makes me laugh to watch it now because I know I’m practically spitting out my lines in my impatience to prove myself!“

“In those days it took much longer to make a film from start to finish. Two or three years even. My mother and I once again prepared to leave Mumbai, and yet again Dev Saab persuaded us to stay. He promised to edit quickly and get the movie into the cinemas. Sure enough, the film released, it became a huge hit, and I became a star,” she said.

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A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

Also read: Zeenat Aman undergoes eye surgery caused by an injury from decades ago – details inside