Zeenat Aman drops a picture from 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', reacts to accusations of obscenity; reveals Raj Kapoor was unsure of casting her - Times of India

Veteran actress Zeenat Aman has joined Instagram now and she's indeed wooing her fans with her dose of 'nostalgia' and words of wisdom. She also speaks her heart out and stays connected with her fans. Today, the actress has dropped a picture from 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' and also addressed the accusations of obscenity which the film had faced.

She 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."


The actress further added that director Raj Kapoor had concerns about casting her because of her western image. She added, "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."

Zeenat revealed that Raj Kapoor held a screening of this particular reel at RK Studios to see the response of distributors to see her in the role. But after the first screening, all the rights in all territories were immediately sold.
'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' released in 1978 and starred Shashi Kapoor opposite Zeenat. She was nominated in the best actress category for her performance in the film.