Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Zeenat
Aman/Instagram
Zeenat
Aman
remembers
her
1987
film
Daku
Hasina,
directed
by
Ashok
Rao,
starring
Rajnikanth
and
Rakesh
Roshan,
which
she
shot
during
a
pregnancy.
She
writes,
‘Daku
Hasina
was
your
classic
story
of
vengeance.’
‘Roopa,
orphaned
when
her
parents
are
killed
by
powerful
village
overlords,
seeks
the
help
of
infamous
dacoit
Mangal
Singh
(The
iconic
Rajinikanth
in
one
of
his
few
Bollywood
cameos)
to
extract
revenge.
‘Under
his
guidance,
she
transforms
into
the
ruthless
Daku
Hasina,
and
so
begins
her
reign
of
terror.
‘The
police
scramble
to
apprehend
her,
but
ah!
There
is
a
twist
in
the
tale.
What
is
the
relationship
between
SP
Ranjit
Saxena
(played
by
none
other
than
@rakesh_roshan9)
and
the
lady
dacoit?’
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Zeenat
Aman/Instagram
‘This
was
one
of
the
last
films
I
did
before
my
extended
hiatus.
I
became
pregnant
early
on
in
the
shoot,
and
by
the
end
of
filming
was
well
into
my
third
trimester!
‘My
svelte
figure
had
naturally
ballooned,
so
to
hide
my
belly
the
crew
came
up
with
various
creative
shots.
Some
of
these
involved
me
riding
a
horse,
which
brought
its
own
concerns.
‘I
had
had
a
scare
on
horseback
during
a
previous
shoot,
when
the
poor
animal
had
bolted
because
of
the
artificial
rain
and
blaring
speakers
on
set.
‘I
wasn’t
nervous
about
my
own
safety,
but
the
safety
of
the
child
in
my
womb
was
of
utmost
importance.
Luckily,
we
were
able
to
shoot
these
scenes
without
any
incident.
‘One’s
memory
is
such
a
slippery
thing.
While
looking
up
clips
from
the
film,
I
found
that
Mazhar
(Khan),
the
father
of
my
children,
also
had
a
special
appearance
in
it.
‘He’s
there
in
the
qawwali
number,
which
I
had
clean
forgotten!’
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Zeenat
Aman/Instagram
‘Daku
Hasina
released
in
1987,
and
it
was
quite
true
to
the
mood
of
the
time.
A
feminist
storm
was
sweeping
through
India
in
the
80s.
‘Legal
reforms
and
social
awareness
on
gender
were
the
talk
of
town,
thanks
to
the
exceptional
women
activists
of
the
time.
‘There
was
a
certain
air
of
liberation,
not
to
mention
indignation
at
the
horrors
of
the
patriarchy,
and
it
felt
oh
so
good
to
play
an
ass-kicking
role!
‘I
don’t
think
the
film
did
very
well,
but
these
posters
are
such
vintage
gems
that
I
just
had
to
share
them
with
you.
‘I
wish
I
could
find
more
stills
from
it
—
because
my
look
was
just
so
cool
—
but
alas
there
seem
to
be
very
few
out
there.’
