Zeenat Aman

Infobox actor

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name = Zeenat Aman
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1951|11|19
location = India
deathdate =
deathplace =
height =
othername =
yearsactive = 1971 - 1989, 1999, 2003, 2006 - present
spouse =
homepage =
occupation = Actress
spouse = Mazhar Khan (1985 - 1998, his death)

Zeenat Aman ( _hi. ज़ीनत अमन, _ur. زینت امان), born November 19, 1951) is a famous Bollywood actress. She was the second runner up in the Miss India Contest and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970. Upon making her debut in Bollywood, Aman was credited with bringing the Western heroine look to Hindi cinema, and thorughout her career has been considered a sex symbol. [cite book|author=Gulzar; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterji, Saibal|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|id=ISBN 8179910660|pages=p 108]

Early life

Zeenat Aman was born to a Muslim father . Her father, Amanullah, was one of the writers for the blockbuster movies of "Mughal-e-Azam" and "Pakeezah" . He died when Zeenat was just 13.

Aman graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and went to Los Angeles for her studies. Upon returning to India, she first took a job as a journalist for "Femina" and then later on moved on to modeling. One of the first few brands that she modeled for was Taj Mahal Tea. She was the second runner up in the Miss India Contest and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970.

Film career

Aman's sultry persona was a contrast to many of the more conservative stars of the era. At a time when heroines were obedient wives and lovers on screen, Aman was drawn to more unconventional roles - she was cast as the opportunist who deserts her jobless lover for a millionaire ("Roti Kapda Aur Makaan"), the ambitious girl who considers aborting her baby to pursue a career ("Ajnabee"), the happy hooker ("Manoranjan"), the disenchanted hippie ("Hare Rama Hare Krishna"), the girl who falls in love with her mother's one-time lover "(Prem Shastra"), and a woman married to a caustic cripple but involved in an extramarital relationship ("Dhund"). She managed to balance these roles with acting in more conventional films such as "Chori Mera Kaam", "Chhaila Babu", "Dostana" and "Lawaaris", which is considered by many to be a landmark in Indian Cinema.

The beginning

After having studied in Los Angeles, winning the Miss Asia pageant and a successful modeling career, Aman's film career began with a small role in O. P. Ralhan's "Hulchul" in 1971. A second role in "Hungama" (1971), starring singer Kishore Kumar, was also not successful.

Dev Anand offered Zaheeda (his second heroine in "Prem Pujari") the role of sister in "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1972). Not realizing the importance of this secondary role, Zaheeda wanted the lead female part (eventually played by Mumtaz), and she opted out. Aman was chosen as a last-minute replacement.

In "Hare Rama Hare Krishna", Aman, aided by "R. D. Burman's" song "Dum Maro Dum" (Take Another Toke), won over the audience as Janice. She earned a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award [ [http://deep750.googlepages.com/FilmfareAwards.pdf 1st Filmfare Awards 1953 ] ] and BFJA Award for Best Actress. [ [http://www.bfjaawards.com/archives/pictures/index31.htm 69th & 70th Annual Hero Honda BFJA Awards 2007 ] ] Throughout the 1970s, the Dev-Zeenat pairing was seen in half a dozen films: "Heera Panna" (1973), "Ishq Ishq Ishq" (1974), "Prem Shastra" (1974), "Warrant" (1975), "Darling Darling" (1977) and "Kalabaaz" (1977). Of these, "Warrant", was the biggest box-office success.

In December 1974, Cine Blitz magazine was launched with Zeenat Aman on its cover, a testimony to her popularity at the time.

The late 1970s

Aman, in her later career, found success with other banners such as B. R. Chopra, Nasir Hussain, Shakti Samanta, Manoj Kumar and Manmohan Desai.

In 1978, she starred in Raj Kapoor's massively publicised "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (1978), however, the film was not much of a success. The subject ironically dealt with the notion of the soul being more attractive than the body, but Kapoor chose to showcase Aman's sex-appeal. The actress was highly criticized for her exposure but somehow, the film had a great deal to do with her later fame. She also earned a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for this film.

Aman's entry into Hollywood also backfired when Krishna Shah's "Shalimar" (1978), co-starring Dharmendra and international names like Rex Harrison and Sylvia Miles, proved to be a failure in the USA and in India. Zeenat possessed a convent schoolgirl accent and a penchant for revealing dresses. She matched Sophia Loren in the battle of oomph at Shalimar's launch. 1978 could have been a disaster year for her, because of the diminishing box office returns of "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" and "Shalimar," but it was "Don" that came to the rescue and set her career soaring again. Ironically, her reasons for accepting the role in "Don" were altrustic, and she didn't even take any remuneration for it, because she wanted to help the producer, Nariman Irani, who passed away midway filming. [ [http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/27zeenat.htm Zeenat: I think Vijay is missing ] ] Her role of a Westernized revenge-seeking action heroine contributed to the film's huge success, and her fans reconnected with her again. Westernised heroines like Parveen Babi and Tina Munim now followed in her footsteps, by the late 1970s. Aman continued to act in hits like Dharam Veer and Dostana.

The 1980s

Unlike her breakthrough roles in the early 1970s, Aman was increasingly asked to just provide sex appeal in hero-oriented, multi-star films. In contrast to this trend was her performance as a rape victim seeking justice in B. R. Chopra's "Insaaf Ka Tarazu" (1980) for which she received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination. This film was followed by success in the love triangle "Qurbani" (1980). Aman enjoyed a phase of renewed fame when she associated with Sanjay Khan during "Abdullah" (1980), a colourful costume drama set in the arid desert.

Personal life

Zeenat married Mazhar Khan and was settled with her two sons Azaan and Zahaan when fate played truant once again. Mazhar was ill with liver dysfunction and Zeenat spent all her savings for his treatment. The disease however was fatal. Mazhar Khan died in September 1998 . What followed was five traumatic years when her in-laws defamed her in public, snatched her son and brainwashed him to the extent that he refused to go back to his mother and even abused her.

Within a span of two years she lost her husband, her mother, and her son got estranged. Zeenat with the help of her old friends like Dimple Kapadia decided to let the world know her side of the story. She called a press conference and clarified all the allegations leveled against her.

Today, Aman lives with her two sons and makes many social appearances. She is seen on screen rarely, in films such as "Bhopal Express" and the Kaizad Gustad film "Boom". In 2006, she acted in the film "Jaana - Let's Fall In Love" with Rajesh Khanna.

Controversies

Zeenat Aman has campaigned for D. P. Yadav, a politician who is facing several criminal charges in the May 2007 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. [ [http://www.ibnlive.com/news/zeenat-aman-campaigns-for-d-p-yadav/38612-4.html Zeenat Aman campaigns for D P Yadav] ]

Awards and recognitions

* 1972 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for "Hare Rama Hare Krishna"
* 1972 - BFJA Awards, Best Actress for "Hare Rama Hare Krishna"
* 1978 - Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress for "Satyam Shivam Sundaram"
* 1980 - Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress for "Insaaf Ka Tarazu"
* 2003 - Bollywood Awards 'Award for Lifetime Achievement'- Lifetime of Glamour. [Lakshman, Ganesh S. " [http://www.newsindia-times.com/nit/2003/05/16/bollywood37-top.html Bollywood Awards 2003 at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ] ".]
* 2006 - "Outstanding Contribution to the Motion Picture Industry of India Awards" at the eighth annual Bollywood Movie Awards. [ [http://www.paktribune.com/news/print.php?id=142384 Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman To Be Honored At The Bollywood Awards ] ] [" [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=1e07411a-9bec-4eab-94b9-b68f9a5cb05a&ParentID=fa6f3aa4-fa24-4d99-89f2-19fe3e91c043&&Headline=iKaka%2fi%2c+Zeenat+Aman+to+be+honoured Rajesh Khanna, Zeenat Aman to be honoured] ". "Press Trust of India"]
* 2008 - Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement

elected filmography

* "Hungama" (1971)
* "Hulchul" (1971)
* "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1972)
* "Heera Panna" (1973)
* "Yaadon Ki Baaraat" (1973)
* "Dhund" (1973)
* "Roti Kapada Aur Makaan" (1974)
* "Manoranjan" (1974)
* "Ajanabee" (1974)
* "Warrant" (1975)
* "Chori Mera Kaam" (1975)
* "Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin" (1977)
* "Dharamveer" (1977)
* "Chhaila Babu" (1977)
* "Aashiq Hoon Baharon Ka" (1977)
* "Shalimar" (1978)
* "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (1978)
* "Don" (1978)
* "The Great Gambler" (1979)
* "Qurbani" (1980)
* "Dostana" (1980)
* "Insaaf Ka Tarazu" (1980)
* "Ram Balram" (1980)
* "Abdullah" (1980)
* "Laawaris" (1981)
* "Krodhi" (1981)
* "Katilon Ke Kaatil" (1981)
* "Samraat" (1982)
* "Jaanwar" (1982)
* "Pukar" (1983)
* "Mahaan" (1983)
* "Yeh Desh" (1984)
* "Aurat" (1986)
* "Gawahi" (1989)
* "Bhopal Express" (1999)
* "Boom" (2003)

Further Reading

* Dinesh Raheja. [http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/nov/12dinesh.htm The A to Z of Zeenat Aman] . Rediff.com, September 26, 2004. Retrieved on November 14, 2005.
* Vidya Sampat & Lavanya Varadrajan. [http://www.despardes.com/Movies/zeenat-aman.html Zeenat Aman: The Sensual] . Despardes.com, March 04, 2005. Retrieved on August 10, 2005.

References

External links

*imdb name | id=0023868 | name=Zeenat Aman
* [http://www.buzz18.com/celebrity-profile/zeenat-aman/1131 Celebrity Profile: Zeenat Aman] . Buzz18.com
* [http://in.movies.yahoo.com/artists/Zeenat-Aman/summary-36954.html Zeenat Aman] . Yahoo! Movies