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What Makes Zeenat Aman Cringe

July 06, 2023 11:32 IST

Photograph: Kind courtesy Zeenat Aman/Instagram

Ever since Zeenat Aman arrived on social media, she has been giving us interesting nuggets from her life.

Her latest is from her 1977 movie, Chhailla Babu, in which she starred with Rajesh Khanna.

Zeenat starts off with the word -- and the tone -- that Hindi film heroines were noted for in the 1970s and 80s: 'Nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!'

Then she adds: 'Chhailla Babu was a suspense thriller that rocked the box office in 1977. It was produced by the lovely and easy going Shomu Mukherjee, directed by Joy Mukherjee and starred Rajesh Khanna.

'Romance, action, music, drama -- it had everything in spades. Including a long drawn out "nahiiiiiiiin" by yours truly, which I think we can agree is pretty much the hallmark of Bollywood masala.

'This snapshot was captured in between takes of the climactic action sequence that we shot at sea in Goa. And yes, I got to throw some punches too.'

 

IMAGE: Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman in Chhailla Babu.

'My outfits in the film were awesomely flamboyant. So what am I wearing here? A black and pink (fake) leather bustier, a matching skirt, a scarf, and knee-high boots.

'And the entire ensemble was embellished with metallic studs! How's that for an "outfit of the day"?

'As an aside, I will admit that so many of the films that we made back then haven't aged too well. In fact, my younger followers would be appalled by the "red Indian" sequence in this film.

'Quite frankly, it makes me cringe too. Such caricatures were entirely the norm back then, and I am glad that I know better now!'

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