Zeenat Aman @ 75

Ashok Nilakantan Ayers

At 75, Zeenat Aman has achieved something rarer than stardom in Hindi cinema: she has remained unmistakably herself. She will turn 75 on November 19, 2026, and yet the woman who appears on Instagram today-with her natural grey hair, petite frame, understated clothes and the same unmistakable poise-looks less like a veteran actress than a woman who has simply refused to grow old in the conventional Bollywood sense.

There is no desperate attempt to recreate the Zeenat Aman of the 1970s. No elaborate disguise, no frantic denial of age. She wears her years almost as another fashion accessory. She occasionally appears on social media, speaks candidly about ageing, work, relationships and life, and then disappears again. But each appearance reminds an audience that the woman who once represented modernity, rebellion and sensuality in Hindi cinema has not gone away with the wind.

Hindi cinema had a handful of women who changed what a heroine could look like, wear and do, Zeenat Aman belongs at the very top of that list. Her journey began unusually. Born Zeenat Khan in Bombay in 1951, she was the daughter of Amanullah Khan, a writer associated with classics including Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah. She later adopted his pen name, Aman, as her screen surname. After winning the Miss Asia Pacific International title in 1970, she entered the public imagination first as a beauty queen and model.

But beauty contests were only the beginning. Her real transformation came when Dev Anand spotted something beyond her looks. He gave her the role of Janice/Jasbir in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and that decision changed both their careers. Aman herself has repeatedly acknowledged Dev Anand as her mentor and the man responsible for her meteoric rise.

Mumtaz was the delectable heroine of the film, a Dara Singh co-star who graduated to big time cinema, but when the audience walked away humming away Dum Maro Dum, the film audiences remembered Zeenat Aman more because she had exploded on the Indian screen with that song. She was the dynamite the fuse of which Dev Anand lit, Feroze Khan exploded it with Qurbani in her famous beach side wear and Raj Kapoor embellished with her braless cotton saree.

The film's hippie culture, Western influences and generation-gap theme were unusual for mainstream Hindi cinema. Zeenat, with her Westernised appearance and self-confidence, fitted the moment perfectly. And then came Dum Maro Dum. The image remains etched into Indian popular culture: Zeenat Aman as Janice, surrounded by hippies, lost in the counterculture of Kathmandu, with the unforgettable music of R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle provided the soundtrack. The song was not merely a hit. It became a cultural explosion.

The young woman smoking a chillum and singing Dum Maro Dum was unlike the demure heroines who had dominated Hindi cinema. She represented rebellion, sexuality, Western fashion and independence. Yet she was not merely decorative. Janice was damaged, vulnerable and searching for identity. Zeenat brought an emotional dimension to a role that could easily have become a caricature.

She won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film, along with the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress. More importantly, she became a star. The 1970s then became the Zeenat Aman decade. She appeared opposite virtually every major male star of the period-Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and others. Films such as Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Ajanabee, Warrant, Chori Mera Kaam, Dharam Veer, Hum Kisise Kum Naheen and The Great Gambler established her as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses.

But Zeenat was never content to be simply the hero's romantic interest. In Don, she became Roma, the woman who infiltrates the criminal world and seeks revenge. Opposite Amitabh Bachchan, she was not a passive heroine waiting to be rescued. She had agency, courage and attitude. The film became a major success and Roma became one of the most memorable female characters in the franchise's history.

Then came Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram in 1978. If Hare Rama Hare Krishna made Zeenat the face of youthful rebellion, Satyam Shivam Sundaram turned her into the ultimate symbol of cinematic sensuality. As Roopa, she was presented in the famous transparent white sari, a visual image that became one of the most controversial and enduring moments in Hindi film history. Opposite Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat's appearance generated enormous publicity and debate.

The controversy, however, sometimes obscures the film's larger significance. Raj Kapoor was attempting to explore the relationship between physical beauty and inner beauty. Zeenat's character is scarred on one side of her face, and the film deliberately plays with the contradiction between social notions of beauty and the supposedly purer beauty of the soul.

Zeenat received her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination for the performance. Two years later came Qurbani, and once again Zeenat reinvented herself. Feroz Khan's stylish action thriller presented her as a glamorous modern woman alongside Khan and Vinod Khanna. The film's fashion, music, cars and visual style seemed to announce that Hindi cinema had entered a new decade. Zeenat, in her striking costumes and increasingly international image, became an essential part of that transformation.

The woman who had appeared as a hippie in Hare Rama Hare Krishna had now become the epitome of urban glamour. That was Zeenat's extraordinary gift. She could move from counterculture to couture, from vulnerability to sexuality, from the girl-next-door to the sophisticated urban woman. She did not merely follow fashion; she often seemed to anticipate it.

She was also unusual in another respect. Zeenat Aman was a Muslim heroine who became one of the most visible female stars of mainstream Hindi cinema at a time when Muslim actresses had already made an enormous contribution to Indian films through stars such as Suraiya, Madhubala, Meena Kumari and Mumtaz. Her public image, however, was radically different. She represented a new, cosmopolitan Muslim woman who was modern, outspoken and comfortable with Western clothes and ideas.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had become one of the highest-paid actresses of her generation. Her filmography included Abdullah, Alibaba Aur 40 Chor, Qurbani, Dostana, Insaf Ka Tarazu, Laawaris, Mahaan, Pukar and others.

Yet the trajectory was not without turbulence. Her personal life became tabloid material, particularly her marriage to Sanjay Khan and later her marriage to Mazhar Khan. She eventually reduced her film work after motherhood and family responsibilities. Her career moved into a quieter phase, followed by selective appearances and a return to acting in films including Bhopal Express, Boom, Ugly Aur Pagli, Panipat and other projects.

But perhaps Zeenat's most interesting reinvention has happened in the digital age. For decades she had been almost invisible from public conversation. Then Instagram gave her a new platform-and, remarkably, a new generation discovered her. Her social-media presence is unlike that of the conventional Bollywood celebrity. She does not appear to be chasing relevance. Instead, she writes about ageing, self-acceptance, relationships, memories and work. Vogue India noted that her posts have covered subjects ranging from animal care to body acceptance. (IPA )