New Delhi: Actor Zeenat Aman has been sharing a series of posts about Dev Anand for a few days on her Instagram. In her first post, she shared how she got her debut film, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ in which she played Dev Anand’s sister. In the second post, the actor shared a few anecdotes about working with Dev Anand. Now in her concluding post about the actor, Zeenat revealed the ‘only misunderstanding’ between them.
Zeenat said that Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor were the ‘golden trio’ who ‘shaped Hindi cinema’. “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.
Dev saab had already launched my career, and I was now keen to broaden my portfolio. Over the next few years I starred in a string of movies, both with and without him," she wrote.
She then wrote about Raj Kapoor and how she had worked with him in ‘Vakil Babu’ and ‘Gopichand Jasoos.’ So, when she got a chance to be directed by him in ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram,’ the actor was very excited.
“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.
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," she added.
She was shocked when years later, Dev Anand in his autobiography titled ‘Romancing With Life’, wrote about her relationship with Raj Kapoor
“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,” she added.
Zeenat then wrote that this episode embarrassed her deeply and this was the only misunderstanding between the two.
“So here it is - the great misunderstanding. This episode embarrassed me deeply. For years I felt unable to talk about it to set the record straight. But now, time has granted me perspective and peace. Human folly is an eternal truth, and we all fall victim at one point or another,” she wrote.
Zeenat concluded her post by saying that she will always remember Dev Anand for his war guidance.
“I will always remember Dev saab for his rare talent and warm guidance. He has my earnest gratitude and I do not tolerate disrespect to his name,” she concluded.
Zeenat started her career with modelling and entered the Femina Miss India pageant in 1970 and came second. She then competed - and won - in the Miss Asia Pacific International pageant, becoming the first Femina Miss India titleholder to win the pageant.
Her role in ‘Hare Ram, Hare Krishna’ brought her into the limelight, while ‘Yaadon Ki Baraat’ (1973) further cemented her position. She continued to rule through the 1970s and 1980s, often paired with reigning stars like Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabha Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor. In the latter part of 1970s, she was also the highest or second-highest paid Bollywood actress, along with Hema Malini.