Zeenat Aman shares her personal story of humiliation on film set with Amitabh Bachchan; see post

Zeenat Aman shares incident during film shoot with Amitabh Bachchan.

By Dhruvi Soni -

October 12, 2023 - 7:37 PM IST

Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan celebrated his 81st birthday on October 10 with a memorable day filled with family festivities and fan interactions. Adding to the celebratory wishes, veteran actress Zeenat Aman shared an elaborate note in honour of the star, recalling a captivating behind-the-scenes story from their shared cinematic journey.

Zeenat Aman shares her personal story of humiliation on film set with Amitabh Bachchan; see post

In her heartfelt tribute, Zeenat Aman revealed, “I missed wishing Mr. Bachchan on his birthday yesterday, so let me make up for it by telling a story about him that I mentioned previously. The story of the only time that I remember Mr. Bachchan being late to set. 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.”

Zeenat Aman chose not to disclose the name of the film, the year it happened, or its director and producer, keeping the focus on the charming narrative. She detailed, “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!”

Zeenat Aman further recounted, “I immediately leapt up and made my way downstairs. I had just about stepped foot on set when from across the room the director let loose a torrent of abuse! 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.”

Zeenat concluded saying, “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.”

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Zeenat Aman is an Indian actress and a former model. The Evil Within (1970), starring Dev Anand, marked the former beauty queen's acting debut. She has acted in films like Yaadon Ki Baarat, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Qurbani, Dharam Veer, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Insaaf Ka Tarazu among others. The actress will soon return to the silver screen with Faraz Arif Ansari’s next, Bun Tikki. The film will also feature Shabana Azmi. As per reports, the plan is to take the movie on floors by November of this year in Himachal Pradesh. The director plans to talk about parenting and gender identity throughout the movie. Abhay Deol will play the role of a father in the film.

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