New Delhi: Yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman recently made her Instagram debut and on Monday shared an old picture with her mother Vardhini Scharwachter and called her ‘pillar of support.’
The photo featured Zeenat holding her mother who wore a saree at an event. Sharing the photo, she wrote, “If I have lived an extraordinary life it’s because I was brought up by an extraordinary woman. My mother Vardhini Scharwachter was what you’d call a ‘pataka’. Elegant, intelligent, feisty and my pillar of support.”
“She was a practicing Hindu and she epitomised the ideas of tolerance, love and empowerment. Her faith did not stop her from marrying my father Amanullah Khan. Later, after they had separated, she fell in love with and married a wonderful German man, whom I called Uncle Heinz. She taught me to stand on my own two feet and to live life on my own terms. She was truly the wind beneath my wings,” she added.
She also shared that she lost most of her family photographs in the Mumbai floods of 2005.
“I lost most of my family photographs in the Mumbai floods of 2005, and so the few that i can find are all the more precious to me,” Zeenat concluded.
Zeenat Aman joined Instagram over the weekend with this post:
Her account is yet to be verified.
In her second post, she shared that in the male-dominated industry of the 70s, she was often "only woman on set."
She wrote, “In the 70s the film and fashion industry was absolutely male dominated, and I would often be the only woman on a set. Over the course of my career I have been photographed and filmed by many talented men. A woman’s gaze though, is different. This series of pictures was shot by young photographer @tanyyaa.a_ in the comfort of my home. No lights, no makeup artist, no hairdresser, no stylist, no assistants. Just a lovely sunny afternoon together. It’s such a pleasure to see so many young women working on both sides of the lens today. I look forward to discovering more such talent on Instagram.”
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.