Zeenat Aman posts Satyam Shivam Sundaram memory

Veteran actor Zeenat Aman, who recently made her debut on Instagram, shared a black and white picture of herself in her character from the film Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), and wrote a long caption detailing the ‘controversy’ surrounding it and embracing her body.

Zeenat posted a picture of herself from her younger days, when she was preparing for the look test of Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

In the picture, Zeenat is seen wearing a blouse, and sitting down with a smiling face. She wrote in the caption, "This picture was taken by photographer J P Singhal during a look test for Satyam Shivam Sundaram around 1977. We shot the series at RK Studios, and my costumes were designed by Oscar-winner Bhanu Athaiya."

Satyam Shivam Sundaram, directed by Raj Kapoor, was controversial for its portrayal of sexuality and the female body. The Supreme Court dismissed a charge of obscenity against the film before its release.

In her post, Zeenat Aman explains that the charges of obscenity ‘amused’ her and she was following the director’s vision and directions.

Zeenat Aman wrote: “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. 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.

“Director Raj Kapoor (Rajji) had brought me on board the film, but was concerned about my "western" image. He 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 R K 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.”