Veteran actor Zeenat Aman dropped a hint on Wednesday that she will post a picture which triggered ‘memories’ for her. Keeping her words, she posted a picture on Thursday on social media from the look test of ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’. Addressing the issue of ‘obscenity’ revolving around the bold portrayal of Rupa in the movie, Zeenat said she did not find anything obscene about the human body.
Taking to Instagram, Zeenat wrote, “This picture was taken by photographer J P Singhal during a look test for Satyam Shivam Sundaram around 1977. We shot the series at R K Studios, and my costumes were designed by Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya. Anyone acquainted with the history of Bollywood will know that there was much controversy and brouhaha about my character Rupa in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. I was always quite amused by the accusations of obscenity as I did not and do not find anything obscene about the human body. I am a director’s actor and these looks were part of my job. Rupa’s sensuality was not the crux of the plot, but a part of it. As it is, the set is not even remotely a sensual space. Every move is choreographed, rehearsed and performed in front of dozens of crew members.”
Zeenat also mentioned that director Raj Kapoor was unsure whether she would be accepted by the audience in such an image. She wrote in her caption, “Director Raj Kapoor (Rajji) had brought me on board the film but was concerned about my “western” image. He was unsure whether the audience would accept me in this avatar, and so conducted this look test. Later, on the basis of this test, we shot a small reel picturised on Lata ji’s famous song ‘Jaago Mohan Pyare’ from the 1956 film Jagte Raho. Rajji held a screening of the reel at R K Studios to gauge the response of his distributors to me in this role. After that first screening, the rights for all territories were immediately sold.”
Helmed by Raj Kapoor, ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ featured Zeenat and Shashi Kapoor in the lead roles. The movie was released in 1978.
Fans and colleagues from the industry appreciated Zeenat’s post. Dia Mirza wrote, “wow” with a heart emoji. A fan wrote, ” Legend has it that you were determined to play the role, so you decided to get your make-up done with the burn scarring and landed up at RK Studios in full costume. They say that Raj Kapoor was so impressed that he signed you immediately!”
Zeenat has recently joined Instagram and since then she is sharing rare pictures with anecdotes. Earlier, she shared a picture with her mother, attributing her free spirit to the latter. (ANI)
