Veteran actress Zeenat Aman had her big breakthrough with the 1971 Dev Anand film ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Ram.’ The film amassed her immense fame and she became the woman of dreams for several netizens. Moreover, the actress found an admirer in Dev Anand himself, Over the years, Aman has carved a niche for herself and boasts an enviable filmography. In his autobiography, the ‘Hum Dono’ actor penned his love for the ‘Don’ actress. Moreover, he mentioned an anecdote about Raj Kapoor kissing Aman, which left Anand dejected and heartbroken.
For those unaware, Dev Anand was 47 when he starred with a 20-year-old Zeenat. By the time, she signed Raj Kapoor’s directorial ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978),’ Dev Anand had fallen for the actress. Moreover, he wanted to announce his love to her in a romantic setup. However, his plans went awry after he witnessed Raj Kapoor kissing Aman in a room full of people, at an event. The actor dedicated space to the incident in his autobiography and penned his love for the ‘Qurbani’ actress. Subsequently, Aman denied the incident and expressed her disappointment over Dev Anand sharing it with the world.
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In his 2007 autobiography ‘Romancing With Life,’ Dev Anand announced his love for Zeenat Aman. “Suddenly, one day I felt I was desperately in love with Zeenat… And wanted to say to her! To make an honest confession, at a very special, exclusive place meant for romance. I chose the Rendezvous at the Taj, on top of the city, where we had dined together once earlier.”
He continued, “After the premiere of Ishk Ishk Ishk at Metro cinema, Raj Kapoor kissed Zeenat in full view of the invited audience, congratulating her for her sparkling performance in the film. That must have made her evening all the more sparkling. Yet, I was jealous of him for making advances on what I considered my sole possession, my discovery, my leading lady, and desiring her with a kiss.”
Elaborating on Aman’s response, he wrote, “This suddenly struck me as a little too familiar. And the way she reciprocated his embrace seemed much more than just polite and courteous.” Moreover, he added that Raj Kapoor conveyed his disappointment with her not keeping her promise of always wearing a white saree when accompanying him.
Anand continued, “More embarrassment was written large on her face, and Zeenat was not the same Zeenat for me anymore. My heart broke into pieces… The rendezvous had already lost all meaning in my mind, I sneaked out of the place.”
Following this, Aman clarified her stance on the issue several times. In a previous interview, she disclosed, “The thing is I have done a lot of movies with Dev Anand. He considered me his protege. I had been working with Raj ji, and we had been shooting and he had also mentioned that he was going to be at this place and Dev sahab was also at the same place, so I went across and greeted him (Raj Kapoor). Obviously, because he was my co-star and I had aspirations to be in his movie.”
Moreover, she took to Instagram last year to pen her side of the story. Sharing a picture, she wrote, “Years later, in 2007, ‘Romancing with Life’, Dev Saab’s autobiography hit the stands. In it he professed that he was in love with me, and insinuated that Raj ji and I had more than a director-actor equation which broke his heart.”
Also Read: Zeenat Aman reveals how she landed Raj Kapoor’s ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’
“To be honest, I was livid. I felt humiliated, hurt and disconcerted that Dev saab, my much older mentor, a person I loved and admired platonically, would not only believe such a story devoid of a shred of truth, but would then go on to publish it for the world to read. For weeks my phone rang incessantly as friends inquired about “what really happened” and shared excerpts from the book. I never did read it though, and in my anger I consigned the copy I was sent to storage in the basement!”
Concluding, Aman penned, “I will always remember Dev saab for his rare talent and warm guidance. He has my earnest gratitude and I do not tolerate disrespect to his name.”
