Photograph: Kind courtesy Zeenat Aman/Instagram

Zeenat Aman has become quite the Instagram star.

She often takes to social media to look back at her career, and give us interesting insights about her life and performances.

Her latest post has her in a picture from her 1977 film, Shalimar.

She writes, ‘I’ve seen this image of myself floating around on the Internet, and thought it would be good to add some context to it.

‘The year was 1977, and the cast and crew of Krishna Shah’s Shalimar had gathered at the Turf Club in Mumbai for the film’s mahurat. It was a packed, high profile event and everyone was dressed to the nines.

‘My glorious silver gown was created by renowned costume designer Mani Rabadi based on a design of my own making. Its plunging neckline and sleek silhouette certainly turned some heads. In fact, Mani literally sewed me into the gown to give it that exquisite fit.’

 

‘We had several international actors in attendance that day, including Gina Lollobrigida. She later backed out of the production, amongst swirling rumours that we had locked horns.

‘British actor Rex Harrison wasn’t at the event, but he was in the film. One day on set, he told me — “A beautiful girl like you should get married immediately”.

‘I had a good laugh over that. And for the record, I think that’s a terrible reason to get married.

‘Shalimar didn’t quite dazzle the audience, but it was a thrilling adventure all the same. We shot the film in both English and Hindi, shooting each scene twice over.’

The movie also starred Dharmendra, Shammi Kapoor, Prem Nath and Aruna Irani.

Rex Harrison and American actors John Saxon and Sylvia Miles appear in supporting roles in their first and only Bollywood film.

Its English version was called Raiders of the Sacred Stone.

Rex Harrison’s voice was dubbed by Kadar Khan for the Hindi version.

This was the last time Mohammed Rafi’s voice was picturised on Shammi Kapoor.



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