Zeenat recalls how Raj Kapoor did not consider her for Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Zeenat Aman often shares trivia about her co-stars and filmmakers from the 70s and 80s on social media. The veteran actor recently dedicated an Instagram post to Raj Kapoor, while reminiscing a memory about being cast in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Zeenat mentioned that she was not considered to play Rupa because of her “modern image.” (Also read: Zeenat Aman says ‘clothes, electronics, money’ can’t be proof of a life well-lived: The only measure of meaning I find…)
The veteran actor captioned her post as, “In December we will mark the 100th birth anniversary of the extraordinary Raj Kapoor. I have rehashed the story of how he came to cast me as Rupa in Satyam Shivam Sundaram countless times, but here it is for Instagram. A defining anecdote from my career. It was 1981, and we were shooting Vakil Babu. Rajji was playing the titular role, while his younger brother Shashi Kapoor and I were playing leading roles as each other’s love interests. In between takes, while the technicians changed sets and rigged lights, we cast members often found ourselves with time to kill.”
“Now Rajji had a radical approach to his art, and he was brimming with enthusiasm for a film he wanted to make. For days he regaled us with his idea for a story about a man who falls in love with a woman’s voice but can’t quite reconcile himself to her appearance. He spoke with unfettered and rousing passion, but never once even hinted that I could be a part of this film. I was already a star in my own right, and his lack of interest in casting me began to chafe. I knew that my ‘modern image’, complete with mini skirts and boots, was the culprit. So I determined to take matters into my own hands.”
A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)
She further wrote, “I knew that Rajji spent much of his spare time at ‘The Cottage’ set on the grounds of his sprawling R.K. Studio. It was here that he would hold meetings or host small events, often presiding over these gathering from a pristine mattress placed on the floor. So I made my move. One evening, having wrapped up early from shoot, I spent an extra 30 minutes in my dressing room making myself up in my own interpretation of Rupa. I put on a ghagra choli, braided my hair with a parandi, and then stuck tissue paper onto my face with glue in an effort to scar my visage. When I reached The Cottage I was greeted at the door by John, Rajji’s right-hand man. He looked quizzically at me but followed my request – ‘Saabji ko kaho ki Rupa ayi hai’…To be continued tomorrow…”
Zeenat made her acting debut with the Indo-Filipino drama The Evil Within (1970). She shot to fame with Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), Don (1978), The Great Gambler (1979), Qurbani (1980), Dostana (1980) and others. She was last seen in a cameo in Ashutosh Gowariker’s epic war-drama Panipat (2019).