veteran actor Zeenat Aman One of the biggest stars of the 1970s, earned labels like ‘sex symbol’ and ‘bold’ actress for playing glamorous and unconventional roles on screen. While these roles defined her public image for decades, Zeenat says they never reflected who she really was. In a recent interview, she spoke about the disconnect between her on-screen persona and her real persona, while also recalling how filmmakers were more interested in her looks than her creative input.In an interview given to Zeenat Shubhra Ayyappa On her YouTube channel, “I always found there was such a disparity between what was projected about me and the person I really was. The sex symbol tag stuck with me for a long time. When people meet me, they will realize that I am really nothing like the characters I portray.” Reflecting on working in the film industry during that period, Zeenat revealed that film sets were overwhelmingly male-dominated. Apart from her hairdresser, she was often the only woman present. Despite being the lead actress, she said she had little say in her characters or their portrayal, as the focus was mainly on her looks. He said, “No one was interested in me being cerebral. They were only interested in Geegi, Nachegi, Do Dialog Babaggi, Vegegi, Barish Mein (singing, dancing, saying two dialogues, getting wet in the rain).” Zeenat also opened up about her fashion sense and how her exposure to global trends influenced her style after returning to India from the US. He said costume design was usually a collaborative effort with celebrity designers Bhanu Athaiya. However, he revealed that if anything, his own suggestions were often more restrained than what the filmmakers wanted. When asked if her ideas were rejected for being too bold, Zeenat laughed and said, “On the contrary, I feel that my contributions were always modest and the additions that people wanted were not so modest. It happened to me in several films where they wanted more cleavage, more than showing the back, which came from the production.” The veteran actor also addressed the issue of unequal pay in the film industry, saying that the causes of inequality are rooted in the patriarchal system. According to her, men traditionally control the financial decisions in commercial cinema, which contributes to the gender pay gap. “Honestly, I think financial power lies mostly with men. Men are in charge of money and it’s still a very patriarchal society and any commercial movie caters to that,” he says, adding that while the industry has made some progress over the years, change has been slow.
