An epitome of beauty and style in the 70s and 80s, Zeenat Aman’s magnetic screen presence has arrested the hearts of millions. A pioneering fashion icon and trendsetter who broke away from stereotypes, she was bold enough to go for offbeat roles and carve her own niche in the film industry. The 71-year-old actor began her career as a model and made her debut in Bollywood opposite to Dev Anand in 1970. For the 1970s Bollywood, Zeenat Aman exuded modernity with confidence. With her free-spirited attitude, she ruled the industry and acted in almost seventy movies as the female lead, and has been a part of many hugely popular hit songs. She gained fame in India and around the world, starring in some major films such as Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), Don (1978), and Qurbani (1980).
Recently, Zeenat Aman has been owning her narrative through her Instagram account. Her followers are treated to glimpses of her personal life, with backstories behind every picture to accompany them. With graceful photos that come dipped in a vat of nostalgia and glamour as well as the wisdom of a septuagenarian, her Instagram posts reflect upon what it feels like to be a camera subject back then as she looks back at some of these iconic photos on the internet, almost half a century later.
She has been sharing her recollections of the making of some of India’s most iconic movies. In one of her early posts, alongside a photo of her sitting in the comfort of her home, she recounts how the film and fashion industry was absolutely male-dominated in the 70s, and how she would often be the only woman on a set. “A woman’s gaze, though, is different,” she says. As an actor who has expressed her disturbance back then on how “ornamental” women characters were (in an interview given to Keith Adam of Australian Broadcasting Commission on the sets of Qurbani), now, in the process of being the photographic subject, she enjoys not being the spectacle and rather being in her element. Though she is very optimistic about the women working behind and in front of the camera, she is apprehensive of the gender pay gap which hasn’t changed much over time. She writes in her post, “The roles available to women are clearly not just ornamental anymore. What hasn’t changed though is the gender pay gap. In my time, I was lauded as the “highest-paid female actor”, but the disparity in the pay cheque between my male co-stars and myself was so vast it was laughable. The Zeenat you see in this clip was quite certain that half a century would be enough time to even the scales. So it disappoints me that even today women in the film industry don’t have wage parity. Women have consistently put in the work, and I really think that the onus is now on our men – actors, directors, producers – to ensure that their female coworkers (not just stars) are paid fairly. It seems such a simple and obvious thing, and yet it would be revolutionary if any man actually did this.” Zeenat Aman’s comments on gender pay inequality in the film industry highlight a larger issue of gender disparity that women face in various areas. Her call for men to be accountable in ensuring equal pay among their female colleagues is a reminder that gender justice requires collective effort.
Zeenat Aman’s Instagram account serves as both a means of self-expression and a testament to her legacy. In one of her posts, she shares a photograph of herself posing before heading to a birthday party. However, she acknowledges the potential invasion of privacy that public figures often face and responds preemptively to her followers’ curiosity by saying, “I know you may want to ask me which friend, so I will give you an answer about privacy. I think there’s a fine line between a healthy interest in a public figure or a person you admire, and an entitlement or desire to know every detail of their lives.” She continues with a touch of humour, “the world is so spectacularly diverse and rich, I promise you there are more interesting things to learn than which celebrity met whom and where.” In this post, Zeenat Aman addresses the importance of boundaries when it comes to a public figure’s personal life, and encourages her followers to focus on more meaningful things that matter to them. She also expresses gratitude towards her fans who respected her choice of not posing for a photograph with them. She says, “I was sorry to disappoint these lovely fans, but there are boundaries that I find important to draw for myself. I am happy that they respected my response, as it’s not always the case.”
On the yesteryear actor Parveen Babi’s birth anniversary, she penned a heartfelt note which celebrated Parveen for the spirit that she embodied and ruminated on how the actor deserved to be remembered. She complimented her and remembered her as the glamorous and talented actor that she was. She recollected how society tries to pit women against each other: “Back in the 70s, we wore our hair in a similar manner and enjoyed Western fashion. Though neither of us saw it, we were told we had an uncanny resemblance. It must have been true because, as recently as last year, I was approached in Dubai as ‘Parveen ma’am’. Naturally, the media at the time spun tales of competition and rivalry between us, but in reality, we were always warm towards each other.” She writes, “Parveen’s struggle with mental illness came at a time when the country was still so insensitive and ignorant on these matters. After her death, I often ruminated on how she was remembered. The tabloids focused on her romantic relationships and ‘episodes’, but Parveen was much more than who she dated or what she said when she was unwell. I feel she never truly got the chance to say her piece. She was intelligent, hardworking, and creative…She achieved incredible success as an actor, even featuring on the cover of Time magazine.” The words were carefully chosen to convey not only her admiration for Parveen but also a deep human understanding of the issues her colleague faced. She questions the lack of sensitivity with which the tabloids handled the situation and forces us to think if there has been any significant change in recent times.
She is not afraid to call out how most celebrity accounts are “more akin to advertising billboards than blogs.” She emphasizes how it has helped her decide her own approach to the app. She is insistent on the word “purpose”—the purpose of her being on the gram, the purpose of the one reading it, and so on. In another thought-provoking post of hers, she remembers how “we see very few older women in the public eye. It’s not something I thought about when I was young, but now that I myself am silver-haired, I feel their absence.” She is concerned about how the absence of older women in the public eye reinforces negative stereotypes about aging and contributes to the erasure of their experiences and wisdom, reminding us of the power and importance of intergenerational relationships.
She questions how “(as) women, we are told that our social worth lies in youth and physical beauty. If not explicitly, then in a thousand subliminal ways. This is especially true for the entertainment industry… I was initially reluctant to stop dyeing my hair, and was strongly advised against it.” She emphasizes how we have minimal agency when it comes to presenting our bodies to others. She contemplates that “Being young is wonderful, but so is being old. It thrills me to see more and more silver-haired women (of all ages) challenge the status quo.” By celebrating her natural self and thereby refusing to conform to societal norms, she is a testament to the growing number of women who are rejecting the notion that youth equals beauty.
While the reflections and musings go in one hand, some serious fun goes on in the other. In one of her posts, she also talks about discovering some of the Zeenat Aman memes on Instagram. She shares them and even calls that version of her ‘Meme-at Aman.’ She also expresses her joy at learning what a ‘thirst trap’ means. In the rapidly changing media landscape, leveraging online platforms to shape and maintain a public persona is quite common among public figures and artists to stay relevant. By artfully curating her online presence, Zeenat Aman crafts and controls the narrative surrounding her career, image, and legacy with great care and self-awareness.
