‘Was Amused by Accusations of Obscenity’: Zeenat Aman on Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Zeenat Aman also shared a photo from her look test.

Zeenat Aman test photo for Satyam Shivam Sundaram. 

(Photo: Instagram)

Veteran actor Zeenat Aman recently made her Instagram debut. The celebrated actor took to her her account to share her experience working on Satyam Shivam Sundaram on 16 February. She took a stroll down memory lane to recall what it was like to be cast in the film. 

She wrote about "the accusations of obscenity" that left her amused and also what the process of being cast in the film was like. She 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, " she added.

She also went on to state, "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."

In the end, the post read: "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."

Zeenat has worked in films like Don, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Qurbani, Dostana, and Dharam Veer, among many others. Some of these films went on to become commercially and critically successful.