ZEENAT AMAN or 'Babusha' as she was fondly referred to as by her mother and loved ones was born on Nov 19,1951( she shares her birthdate with Indira Gandhi & Sushmita Sen) to Amanullah Khan a revolutionary poet of Muslim origins and a Hindu lady (who for the best part of her life was known as Mrs.Heinz and Zeenat's Mom in Bollywood circles.Nobody was on first name basis with her and so that's how she was always addressed.)

In fact back then this inter-religious marriage was frowned upon to such an extent that the Khan's were octracised by their own family.It was this rebellious streak that ZEENAT AMAN inherited from her father and the silence of dignity no matter what the provacation came from her mother.

In fact even though ZEENAT AMAN loved her mother beyond distraction and could never forget all that she did for moulding her into the person she eventually turned out to be, yet there is absolutely no denying the unsaid word that she was furious with her mother when she got remarried to a German business magnate Mr Heinz just when Zeenat was stepping into films after having made her mark as a Miss India Queen and later as Miss Asia. That was the prime reason till the very end Zeenat stubbornly refused to use the Heinz surname and insisted on keeping her original father's name.

After completing her Senior Cambridge from St.Xaviers School she got a scholarship that landed her in America for higher studies. On her return to Mumbai she was keen to be a journalist and that's how she connected with VIMLA PATIL of Femina who felt she was more apt to be in front of the camera than to be pushing pens in her magazine.With the right amount of prodding and persuasion she participated in the Femina Miss India Contest and she did her mentor proud by being crowned Miss India & later Miss Asia Queen in 1970.

Thus began the era of ZEENAT AMAN in Bollywood.Even though she has always been known as a Dev Anand discovery yet many do believe that it was O.P.Ralhan who spotted her first when she was moving around with fellow model and aspiring actor KABIR BEDI and signed both of them for his film 'Hulchul'. Even though Ralhan's film arrived before Hare Ram Hare Krishna still it was Dev saab who was always considered her mentor.

Infact what is rather interesting is the way Zeenat juggled her men comfortably be it in or off-screen so effortlessly. While she was with DEV ANAND she would keep sending feelers to RAJ KAPOOR as well and sure enough she bagged SATYAM SHIVAM SUNDRAM even while she was still in the Dev camp. Simultaneously she would never forget O.P.RALHAN who launched her film career even though Dev saab found him too loud and uncouth for his Zee baby to associate with him.But throwing caution to wind and showing her loyalty for O.P. she was always available for his film as and when he beckoned be it for Paapi or Pyaas.

Not just that ZEENAT AMAN had her heroes tied to her little finger as she did films with RAJESH KHANNA, AMITABH BACHCHAN(neither of whom could stand each other) as well as SHASHI KAPOOR or DHARMENDAR or VINOD KHANNA and SHATRUGHAN SINHA. The message that she sent out loud and clear was that she was nobody's personal property and was there to make a living.So anybody who could afford her and had a decent script could approach her at anytime and hope to get a fair hearing.

It is only too well known that at one point of time ZEENAT AMAN actually became the bone of contention between the KHAN brothers FEROZ & SANJAY.Everyone knew only too well it was while she was shooting for QURBANI that she also signed ABUDALLAH with SANJAY KHAN and eventually while the film was under-production she had a whirlwind romance with SANJAY KHAN that resulted in a cloak and dagger Nikaah that left Feroz furious as his loyalty was with the clan. There was soo much bad blood between the brothers that when their respective films were ready for release neither of them was willing to budge on the release date. At the end of the day.Qurbani was an all time hit while Abudallah was a miserable flop of 1980. Something that always pinched SANJAY KHAN.

No matter what the world may have to say about her not being able to act for nuts the bottom line is that ZEENAT AMAN had loads of self confidence in herself and her talent and so she took nasty barbs in her stride and her way of answering was to give one major hit after another to shut up her detractors. In many ways ZEENAT AMAN and PARVEEN BABI(God Bless Her Noble Soul)were the fore runners who crumbled the myth that models were too wooden to be decent actors.

Some of the evergreen films that will always bring back fond memories of the ZEENAT AMAN era evertime they are screened include:

Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Dhund, Roti Kapda Makaan, Heera Panna, Chori Mera Kaam, Manoranjan, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Ajnabee, Satyam Shivam Sunderam, Warrant, Dharamveer, Aashiq Hoon Baharon Ka, Insaaf ka Taraazu, Shalimar, Don, Qurbani Ram Balram, Abdullah, The Great Gambler, Dostana, Professer Pyarelal, Ashanti, Pyaas, Laawaris and Mahaan that come to mind immediately.

Two movies that come to mind on easy recall are Boom(ZEENAT AMAN'Scome-back film with AMITABH BACHCHAN that ironically also happened to be KATRINA KAIF & MADHU SAPRE's debut film) and Jaane Jaana that was only seen by die-hard fans of RAJESH KHANNA & ZEENAT as the two came together after almost a decade.Many truly wished they never had actually.So terrible was the movie actually.

Even though ZEENAT AMAN was considered street smart and savvy yet when it came to romance and love more often than not she wore her heart on her sleeve and this is what made her the darling of gossip mongers and the media. Wonder what Stardust or Cine Blitz would have done without ZEENAT or PARVEEN?

From her violent nikaah with Sanjay Khan to her volatile romance with Mazhar khan that ended in a midnight marriage abroad during a star nite. Even the birth of her two sons from MAZHAR KHAN could not save the marriage from doom and eventually it ended in a talak.However after his demise ZEENAT AMAN was reunited with her sons again and now she leads a dignified life making an odd screen appearance in a rare film or two to open the flood gates and get fond memories of those days when Zee was the undispute box-office queen.

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