New Delhi: Zeenat Aman made her debut in Hindi films with Dev Anand’s 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna.' The actor, who frequently shares anecdotes from her life and career on Instagram, recently shared how she got her role in the film. In a long post, she shared that she was supposed to move to Malta with her mother and stepfather, but then she met Dev Anand, who was casting for 'Hare Krishna Hare Rama', and then he persuaded her mother to delay their plans.
Sharing a picture with Dev Anand, she wrote, “When entering an industry like Bollywood, every actor hopes for a starmaker. Someone who sees the glimmer of potential and ambition that has perhaps only been visible to the self thus far. Very few are so lucky as to find this person, but I was. My starmaker was Dev saab.
It was 1970, and I think O P Ralhan was feeling quite sorry for me. He had given me a bit part in Hulchul, it had made little impact, and I was already packing my bags to relocate to Malta with my mother and stepfather.
Dev Saab and his Navketan team were casting for Hare Rama Hare Krishna at the time. In his largesse, O P Ralhan suggested that they meet me. I vividly remember what I wore that day. A fitted yellow top, a fawn-coloured skirt and glasses with yellow frames. My mother was at the meeting (remember, I was still in my teens). So she held forth, while I spoke when spoken to, and packed tobacco into my pipe. The meeting concluded, and a few days later the landline jangled. I was asked to come for a screen test, and that is how I came to be cast as Jasbir/Janice.”
She then added how Dev Anand pursuaded her mother and then they flew to Kathmandu to shoot the film
“Oh, but the saga doesn’t end here. My family was ready to depart the country, but Dev saab persuaded my mother and I to delay our travels. So instead we flew to Kathmandu, stayed at the famous Soaltee Hotel, and waited long days to be called to set to shoot! I was frothing at the bit by the time it was finally time for my scenes. The first of which was a bus sequence. It makes me laugh to watch it now because I know I’m practically spitting out my lines in my impatience to prove myself,” she added.
The Satyam Shivam Sundaram actor added that Dev Anand promised to edit and release Hare Rama Hare Krishna quickly, so Zeenat’s plans to move could be postponed.
“In those days it took much longer to make a film from start to finish. Two or three years even. My mother and I once again prepared to leave Mumbai, and yet again Dev Saab persuaded us to stay. He promised to edit quickly and get the movie into the cinemas. Sure enough, the film released, it became a huge hit, and I became a star.
My immigration plans were now indefinitely postponed, and Dev Saab started writing another script with me in mind…”
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.