Zeenat Aman impressed Raj Kapoor and instantly bagged her iconic role, know how

Yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman won the hearts of movie lovers for over a decade in the 70s with her acting prowess. The veteran actress had a ‘Western image’ for her bold approach, unlike other actresses in the era. She established herself as a leading actress with Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973). However, even after decades, movie lovers remember her for her iconic movie Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Recently, the veteran actress graced the popular chat show ‘Koffee With Karan -Season 8’ along with Neetu Kapoor. Both the yesteryear actresses shared some anecdotes of their journey in the industry. Recalling an interesting occurrence, Zeenat Aman disclosed how she impressed Bollywood’s Showman Raj Kapoor and bagged her iconic role in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. 

Recalling the incident, Zeenat shared that she was working with RK in a movie titled Vakil Babu, in which he was in the lead. At that time, Raj Kapoor was deeply involved in the script of Satyam Shivam Sundaram. In between the shots, he discussed the plans for the movie and shared what he envisioned. RK’s involvement and enthusiasm for the movie intrigued her in various ways.

Further, Zeenat shared that as she carried a ‘Western Image’ she never thought that Raj Kapoor would cast her as the daughter of a Pujari. 

“He had given Bobby which was a huge blockbuster at the time. I was already an established star, you know ‘Western image’. I didn’t think that he would ever think of casting me in this role. It’s the daughter of a Pujari,” she said.

She mentioned that one day, after shooting at Esel Studio, she decided to dress up as her interpretation of what she thought he envisioned for the character Rupa. She put a tissue paper on her face, applied makeup, and styled herself in braids. She put on a ghagra-choli and went to RK Studios.

Zeenat said, “I went to RK Studios, he used to sit in his cottage and he has his man Friday John. I said, ‘John, please tell sir that Rupa has come.’ He said, ‘Who is Rupa? Call her.’ I went. He was really gobsmacked. I’ll tell you what he said later to Krishna ji. He called Krishna ji and she came in a little bit of time with gold guineas. They gave those to me as my signing amount.”

Zeenat said that the items were handed over to her as her initial payment. Further, she mentioned that what he conveyed was, ‘This girl is a huge star. She doesn’t need to do this. It’s her passion for this that makes me want to give her the part.’

Meanwhile, during the rapid-fire segment of the chat show, host Karan Johar asked Zeenat about her choice of an actress who would be fit to play Rupa’s character in the sequel to Satyam Shivam Sundaram, without any second thought she replied Deepika Padukone. Well, such a statement from the veteran actress must have extremely elated Deepika.

The excitement among movie lovers is escalating as the veteran actress is all set to make a comeback in Manish Malhotra’s film Bun Tikki.