PIC: Zeenat Aman recalls how she bagged Hare Rama Hare Krishna; Calls Dev Anand her ‘starmaker’

Veteran actress Zeenat Aman recently made her debut on Instagram and since then she has been winning hearts on the Internet. The actress keeps sharing interesting anecdotes from her illustrious career with her fans. Not only netizens but even celebs are in awe of Zeenat’s priceless Instagram posts. On Tuesday, the legendary actress made headlines after she shared a heartwarming post on Dev Anand. She shared a black and white picture with him and wrote a long note recalling how she was cast in Hare Rama Hare Krishna.

Zeenat Aman remembers Dev Anand in a heartfelt post

In her long post, Zeenat Aman revealed that her family wanted to leave India but it was Dev Anand who ‘persuaded’ her and her family to stay. She went on to call the late actor her ‘starmaker’. Her post read, “When entering an industry like Bollywood, every actor hopes for a starmaker. Someone who sees the glimmer of potential and ambition that has perhaps only been visible to the self thus far. Very few are so lucky as to find this person, but I was. My starmaker was Dev saab. It was 1970, and I think O P Ralhan was feeling quite sorry for me. He had given me a bit part in Hulchul, it had made little impact, and I was already packing my bags to relocate to Malta with my mother and stepfather.”

She added, “Dev Saab and his Navketan team were casting for Hare Rama Hare Krishna at the time. In his largesse, O P Ralhan suggested that they meet me. I vividly remember what I wore that day. A fitted yellow top, a fawn-coloured skirt and glasses with yellow frames. My mother was at the meeting (remember, I was still in my teens). So she held forth, while I spoke when spoken to, and packed tobacco into my pipe. The meeting concluded, and a few days later the landline jangled. I was asked to come for a screen test, and that is how I came to be cast as Jasbir/Janice.” 

The Satyam Shivam Sundaram actress revealed how Dev Anand convinced her family to stay in India yet again. He insisted they stay till the movie saw a release. She wrote, “Oh, but the saga doesn’t end here. My family was ready to depart the country, but Dev saab persuaded my mother and I to delay our travels. So instead we flew to Kathmandu, stayed at the famous Soaltee Hotel, and waited long days to be called to set to shoot! I was frothing at the bit by the time it was finally time for my scenes. The first of which was a bus sequence. It makes me laugh to watch it now because I know I’m practically spitting out my lines in my impatience to prove myself! In those days it took much longer to make a film from start to finish. Two or three years even. My mother and I once again prepared to leave Mumbai, and yet again Dev Saab persuaded us to stay. He promised to edit quickly and get the movie into the cinemas. Sure enough, the film released, it became a huge hit, and I became a star. My immigration plans were now indefinitely postponed, and Dev Saab started writing another script with me in mind…”

After she shared the post, she received a lot of reactions from celebs and netizens. Anurag Kashyap commented, “Love this story .. and thanks to dev saab for a lot of people he brought into this industry, and for you.” Tanuja Chandra wrote, “Legend – Dev sab. Such a pretty picture, filled with warmth.” Shreya Dhanwanthary wrote, “This is true. Everyone hopes someone else can see the glimmer that we can barely see ourselves.” Even the fans were all heart for her post. 

Hare Rama Hare Krishna was released in 1971 and Zeenat played the role of a drug addict. Her song Dum Maaro Dum went on to become iconic. 

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