Zeenat Aman, a veteran actor, shared a black and white picture of herself that she found on the internet, along with the story behind it. She revealed it was clicked at the high profile ‘mahurat shot’ of her 1977 film ‘Shalimar,’ for which she wore a silver gown with a plunging neckline. Designer Mani Rabadi ‘literally sewed me into the gown,’ she said, to achieve the perfect fit.
Sharing the picture, she wrote, “Some Saturday glam to inspire your evening plans! I’ve seen this image of myself floating around on the Internet and thought it would be good to add some context to it. The year was 1977, and the cast and crew of Krishna Shah’s Shalimar had gathered at the Turf Club in Mumbai for the film’s ‘mahurat’. It was a packed, high-profile event and everyone was dressed to the nines. My glorious silver gown was created by renowned costume designer Mani Rabadi based on a design of my own making. Its plunging neckline and sleek silhouette certainly turned some heads. In fact, Mani literally sewed me into the gown to give it that exquisite fit.”
She further added, “We had several international actors in attendance that day, including Gina Lollobrigida. She later backed out of the production, amongst swirling rumours that we had locked horns. British actor Rex Harrison wasn’t at the event, but he was in the film. One day on set, he told me – “A beautiful girl like you should get married immediately”. I had a good laugh over that. And for the record, I think that’s a terrible reason to get married. Shalimar didn’t quite dazzle the audience, but it was a thrilling adventure all the same. We shot the film in both English and Hindi, shooting each scene twice over.”
Zeenat appears as a guest on reality TV shows and at film premieres. In one of her posts, she stated that she is neither planning a return to the silver screen nor closing that door. She is, however, set to make her OTT debut with an upcoming series called ‘Showstopper,’ which will center on lingerie fittings.
