Zeenat Aman opened up about dating accusations involving Raj Kapoor and posted a monochrome photo of herself with Dev Anand from their younger years.
In the 1970s, seasoned actress Zeenat Aman was a leading lady. She has acted in a number of films, including Warrant (1975), Chori Mera Kaam (1975), Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), and Ajanabee (1974). She also collaborated on a number of films with the late actor Dev Anand.
The venerable actor claimed in his biography that he fell in love with Zeenat and afterwards was saddened when romance speculations about Zeenat and Raj Kapoor surfaced. The seasoned actress has at last discussed it on her social media.
Zeenat Aman published a black-and-white image of herself and Dev Anand when they were younger. She also spoke of how the revelation had made her feel sad and ashamed. She penned, “When I embarked on my cinematic career, It was the age of the Golden Trio. The genius of Dev Saab, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor was widely acknowledged, and any actor worth their salt recognised that these three giants had shaped and were shaping Hindi cinema.”
Zeenat stated that she was looking for fresh assignments after making a good debut in the profession. She later appeared in other films both with and without Dev Anand. “Meanwhile, Raj ji’s 1973 release Bobby had been a blockbuster hit that had swept every award. We knew each other socially, too, exchanging warm greetings at public events. He was also my costar in Vakil Babu and Gopichand Jasoos. Naturally, I wanted to be directed by him under the RK banner, and when the opportunity arose, I jumped at it. The story of how I landed SSS is well-known so I won’t repeat it,” she added about the 1978 film Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
‘I was giddy to have been cast for Raj ji’s unconventional project and put heart and soul into it. I was completely unaware that Dev Saab was simultaneously misreading the situation. 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!”
Zeenat Aman admitted that she had repressed information about a humiliating incident in her life for a very long time, but she has now decided to come clean. In the end, she called Dev Anand as “rare talent” with loving leadership, for whom she expressed her sincere gratitude. “I do not tolerate disrespect to his name.”
