He emerged as a distracted rebel belting out the devastating and psychedelic ‘Dum Maro Dum’ in ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ (1971) and cemented his presence as the guitar-strumming ‘lal kapde wali memsahib’ in ‘Yaadon’. ki Baraat’ (1973), the stunning Sheela, or rather ‘Laila’, of ‘Qurbani’ (1980) and many other attractive charmers. Fifty years later, the stylish Zeenat Aman is still ruling hearts.

Zeenat Aman, one of Bollywood’s most popular and highest-paid actresses of the 1970s and mid-1980s, before personal problems arose and family came to the fore in the 1990s, is back strong as the 21st century comes with ‘Bhopal Express’ returned. ‘ (1999) and then the interesting ‘Boom’ (2003).

While he continues to act in films, TV series and even on stage, he has appeared in a new avatar since early 2023, embracing social media with gusto. His Instagram account, which shares nostalgic stories and insights from its heyday and covers various topics, has gained nearly eight hundred thousand followers so far.

Zeenat Aman, who turned 73 on Tuesday, November 19, was a trendsetter right from the beginning. The first model to make it big in Bollywood, she found success with her second film – but in ‘Hare Ram Hare Krishna’, it was not the protagonist but the long-lost ‘careless’ sister of the hero.

Another thing that contributed to her rise was that, as an independent-minded woman, she did not shy away from taking on unconventional and (for the time) ‘bold’ roles – even with a shade or two of gray and overt ‘sexualisation’. from his on-screen persona.

His brief role in the movie ‘Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin’ (1977) was an example of this. As Kavwali begins ‘Hai agar enemy time..’, Zeenat Aman, shown sitting opposite a dazed moustachioed Ajit, looks forlorn and defenseless, but suddenly changes her path, walking confidently towards the stage and clearing the floor away from the hero. He introduces himself as follows: “…Husn wale hi nahi ham/Dil bhi rakhte hain jigar bhi…”

And then ‘Bhes Majnu ka liya maine jo Laila ho kar/Rang laya hai dupatta mera maila ho kar’ brought the house down.

But the petite but buxom actress with her exotic, voluptuous looks wasn’t always trying to portray a sultry seductress and was open to a wide range of roles and characters.

She was as effective as the hapless, exploitative Rani Ranjit Singh in the taut ‘Dhund’ (1973), the gold-digger Sheetal in ‘Roti Kapada Aur Makaan’ (1974) or the tomboyish, vengeful Roma in the stylish gangster flick. ‘Don’ (1978) – ‘Khaike paan Banaraswala’ also owes its popularity to its impatience – leading to the classic scolding of the hero in chaste Awadhi – “In kaari kaari akhiyen se, tu ghur na hamko ae gori,” and its inspired quip.

Zeenat Aman played the ambitious Rashmi Saxena, who can even go for an abortion to further her career, in ‘Ajanabee’ (1974) with the same enthusiasm as Alibaba’s slave Fatima in the Indo-Soviet co-production ‘Alibaba Aur 40 Chor’ (1980). ), rape victim Bharti Saxena seeking justice in ‘Insaaf ka Tarazu’ (1980) and female thug gang leader in ‘Daku Hasina’ (1987),

Then there is her performance as the wounded Rupa in ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ (1978) on the one hand, and in ‘Ashanti’ (1982) on the other, where she sheds her westernized persona and loses her charm. The magnificent trio in this copy of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ — Parveen Babi and Shabana Azmi were her colleagues.

Born to a mixed-religion couple in Bombay in 1951, Zeenat Khan had a connection with the film industry from the moment she was born. While his parents separated when he was young and his mother raised him, his father, Amanullah Khan, who is the cousin of veteran actor Murad, was a screenwriter who contributed pen to landmark classics like ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ and ‘Pakeezah’. -his name is ‘Aman’. He adopted this as his surname.

She even received a scholarship to attend the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for her graduation, but returned without a degree and started modeling. In 1970, she participated in the Femina Miss India pageant and came second, and then competed and won the Miss Asia Pacific International pageant, becoming the first Femina title holder to win this pageant.

That’s when he caught the attention of Bollywood, especially Dev Anand, who gave him a break in the Indo-Philippine production ‘The Evil Within’ (1970), and his innovative screenplay ‘Hulchul’ (1971), which caught the attention of OP Ralhan, whose main role was . debut. However, it was ‘Hare Ram, Hare Krishna’ that made his name known.

But his defining moment in Bollywood was the ‘Qurbani’ song ‘Aap jaisa koi’, which had seductive lyrics like “Main insaan hoon farishta nahi/Dar hai bahak na jaun kahin/Tanha dil na sambhlega, pyaar bina ye tadpega..” in the divine voice of youth singing sensation Nazia Hussain.