New Delhi: Zeenat Aman is as popular, likable and gorgeous in her new avatar as she was in the first one, when she ruled many hearts as a heroine. She has worked with Amitabh Bachchan in several films, such as Laawaris (1981), Dostana (1980), Mahaan (1983) and Pukar (1983) to name a few. On Thursday, Zeenat shared a long post on Instagram about her former co-star and recalled an incident on set that left her in tears. Zeenat revealed she accepted Amitabh Bachchan’s apology after a ‘drunk’ unnamed director wrongly accused her of being late for shooting and humiliated her.
Zeenat Aman started by writing that she missed wishing Amitabh on his 81st birthday on Wednesday, so she was sharing ‘the story of the only time she remembers Amitabh being late to set’. The veteran actor wrote, “For reasons that will become clear – I’m not going to mention the name of the film we were shooting for, nor the year, nor the names of the director and producer involved.”
She then went on to narrate the incident, writing, “We had a morning shift that day, and I hitched a ride to set with the film’s producer. As always, I had my script in hand and rehearsed my lines as we drove to the studio. Upon my arrival I went directly to my makeup room, and informed the crew to send me a message once Mr. Bachchan was ready for the shot. Our ‘roll time’ came and went, but there was no sign of Mr. Bachchan. 30 minutes passed. Then 45. An entire hour went by before there was a knock on the door. An AD informed me the Mr. Bachchan had arrived. And that he’d run straight from his car to the set!”
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Zeenat recalled that she ‘immediately leapt up and made her way downstairs’, but just as she stepped foot on set, from across the room, the director ‘let loose a torrent of abuse’. She wrote, “He was absolutely catatonic, and under the impression that it was I who had held up production. The cast and crew stood in stunned silence as this director ranted and raved at me. I couldn’t get a word in edgeways, and tears of indignation rushed to my eyes. I glared at the director, did an about turn, marched straight back to my makeup room and told my team to pack up.”
“Even as they zipped up my makeup kit, the lovely producer arrived at my door, followed closely by Mr. Bachchan. ‘Babs, I know it’s my fault. The man is a fool and he’s drunk. Let it go and let’s get to work,’ he said. I accepted Mr. Bachchan’s apology of course but I was still stinging from the unwarranted dressing down I had received. I was in no mood to shoot after that humiliation. When I finally softened and agreed to come back on set, the director threw himself at my feet and begged my forgiveness. It was all rather melodramatic, and though I completed the film, I never worked with that director again,” Zeenat concluded.
