I do not find anything obscene about human body: Zeenat Aman

The actor shared that her character Rupa’s sensuality in the 1978 film ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ was only a part of the plot, not the ‘crux’ of it.

Hyderabad: Veteran actor Zeenat Aman recently made her debut on Instagram. The actor, who has been quite active on the photo-sharing app, on Thursday, posted a picture of herself from the 1978 film ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’, along with a long note detailing the ‘controversy’ surrounding the film.

According to the caption, the picture was from the look test for the film. She portrayed the role of ‘Rupa’. The actor shared that her character Rupa’s sensuality was only a part of the plot, not the ‘crux’ of it.

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For the unversed, ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ was mired in controversy for its portrayal of sexuality and the female body. The Supreme Court had reportedly dismissed a charge of obscenity against the film before its release.

She began her note by giving a few details about the photograph and said, “This picture was taken by photographer J P Singhal during a look test for Satyam Shivam Sundaram around 1977. We shot the series at R K Studios, and my costumes were designed by Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya (sic).”

“Anyone acquainted with the history of Bollywood will know that there was much controversy and brouhaha about my character Rupa in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. I was always quite amused by the accusations of obscenity as I did not and do not find anything obscene about the human body. I am a director’s actor and these looks were part of my job. Rupa’s sensuality was not the crux of the plot, but a part of it. As it is, the set is not even remotely a sensual space. Every move is choreographed, rehearsed and performed in front of dozens of crew members (sic),” wrote the 71-year-old.

 

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She further shared that the film’s director Raj Kapoor was not sure if she will fit into the role of Rupa because of her ‘western’ image. So, he conducted a look test and also shot a small reel to see the reaction of the distributors towards Zeenat’s casting.

“He (Raj Kapoor) was unsure whether the audience would accept me in this avatar, and so conducted this look test. Later, on the basis of this test, we shot a small reel picturised on Lata ji’s famous song ‘Jaago Mohan Pyare’ from the 1956 film Jagte Raho. Rajji held a screening of the reel at RK Studios to gauge the response of his distributors to me in this role. After that first screening, the rights for all territories were immediately sold (sic),” she added.

Starring Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman, ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ was released in 1978, and went on to become a hit and is considered an iconic film.