Sanjay Khan Denies Assaulting Zeenat Aman; So What Happened?
Sanjay Khan, in his memoir, ‘The Best Mistakes of my Life’, brushes aside the very public 1980 incident.
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Sanjay Khan has recently released his autobiography, The Best Mistakes of My Life where he traverses his journey in Bollywood, life with his family Zarine and children, Sussanne, Simone, Farah and Zayed Khan, as well as his near-death accident. But the veteran actor has glossed over the much-talked about incident where he allegedly thrashed fellow actor and rumoured girlfriend, Zeenat Aman along with his wife, in full public view in Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in 1980.
In his autobiography, Sanjay creates a parallel account in which he says he has often imagined making a new film after Abdullah, in which he played a prince and Zeenat a princess and in which the lovers part ways in the end.
He then creates six scenes, where without taking any names, he talks about how the “princess” tries very hard to win over the “prince” who resists her “alluring” ways. The princess then forces her way into a dinner party where the prince and his beloved and friends are present.
The last scene goes something like this:
The Media “Embellishments”
In 1980, cinema magazine Cine Blitz published a detailed account of Sanjay assaulting Zeenat, who was reportedly his second wife (the couple was rumoured to have tied the knot in a secret ceremony with two eye-witnesses in Jaiselmer, Rajasthan).
When Sanjay’s wife walked in on the scene, she reportedly shouted, "Give the bitch what she deserves," and proceeded to hit Zeenat with her loaded handbag.
Zeenat Aman’s Take
Zeenat Aman, who suffered a partial injury in her right eye, years later, told Simi Garewal that she closed her mind to the physical abuse she suffered.
And much later, when Zeenat was asked about domestic violence, in an interview with HT, she said, strongly condemned it.
“It’s inexcusable and a punishable crime. There is nothing further to say about it. The victim in an abusive relationship has to speak up. She needs to tell someone in the family or an authority in the family about it. If that doesn’t work, she must seek social counsellors or someone who can intervene. Unless your voice is heard, no one will be able to help you,” said Zeenat.
Out of Bounds
During the promotions of the book, Sanjay Khan was also quoted saying: “I’ve always followed a principle: Never cross the line. Of course there were many beautiful women who would vie for me and try to get into my orbit, but I would not senselessly cheapen myself by falling into their hands… I always thought that if I ever went and slept with another woman, what would my children and my wife say…?
“When I insisted that this would be an interview pertaining to The Best Mistakes of My Life , I was politely told that the publishing house would prefer skipping the scheduled interview. It was 11 am, I was standing outside his house in Juhu. It was infuriating to say the least because if you aren't so keen to discuss your mistakes, you shouldn't have such a misleading title to your autobiography,” said Mohar Basu, a reporter from Mid-day.
Sanjay Khan’s book launch was attended by the fraternity in droves; Shatrughan Singa, Hema Malini, Dia Mirza, Sahil Sangha, Neelam Kothari, Samir Soni, Poonam Dhillon, Kabir Bedi and Apoorva Lakhia were among those present.
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