“Started to refer me as…”: Zeenat Aman reveals pet name Dev Anand gave her

Zeenat on Wednesday took to Instagram and shared a picture of herself in an all-white outfit along with a long note.

Mumbai: After sharing a cute picture of her pet dog, veteran actress Zeenat Aman penned a note revealing the interesting story behind the name of her pet and also revealed what names ‘Dev Saab’ (Dev Anand) used to call her.

Zeenat on Wednesday took to Instagram and shared a picture of herself in an all-white outfit along with a long note.

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The note read, “Childhood pet names can be sticky things. As a little girl, I was the apple of my father’s eye, and he used to lovingly call me Babusha. A name that emerged as a go-between Babushka and Babugosha. He had quite the sense of humour because Babushka, which refers to an old Russian lady, and Babugosha, which refers to a pear, are hardly apt monikers for one’s daughter!”

“My childhood friends, many of whose parents would socialise with my own, were quick to pick up on this nickname. In their mouths, Babusha evolved into Babs, which is how my earliest friends still know me,” the actor continued.

She also revealed what late actor Dev Anand used to call her, Zeenat added, “Later of course, Dev Saab started to refer to me as ‘Zeenie’, and then the media concocted ‘Zeenie baby’. Both of which stuck. Now that I’m too old for younger people on set to refer to me as either of those, I’m also called ZA or Zee. “Home names” are such a wonderful sign of love and intimacy. I took a leaf out of my father’s book, and both my boys received pet names soon after their birth. The older is Azaanchu, and the younger Zanuski. If you have an odd or funny or unique pet name, I’d love to hear the story behind it in the comments!” As soon as she uploaded the post, the actress’s fans and industry friends chimed in the comment section.

Kajol dropped red heart emojis. One of the users wrote, “You will always be ‘Zeenie Baby’ to many of us who watched your films in awe! A child in the 70’s and a teen in the 80’s, for me, you epitomized glamor! And now you’re glorious!.” Another commented, “Thanks for sharing this beautiful trivia. My dog is named Chiku and his picture will do justice to his name.” Zeenat Aman made her Instagram debut in February. She keeps on sharing reflective thoughts on topics ranging from parenthood, the privacy of celebs, dyeing of hair and many more things.