When Zeenat Aman Was High!

Here’s
another
nugget
from
Zeenat
Aman’s
treasure
trove
of
life
experiences.

Posting
a
picture
from
her
film

Hare
Rama
Hare
Krishna,
Zeenat
shares
an
anecdote:
‘We
were
in
Kathmandu
shooting

Hare
Rama
Hare
Krishna,
and
Dev

Saab
had
rounded
up
a
gaggle
of
hippies
from
the
streets
to
be
featured
in
the
song.
Which
song?
The
picture
is
a
dead
giveaway
—

Dum
Maro
Dum,
of
course!

‘The
hippy
extras
were
delighted
with
their
good
fortune.
They
were
not
only
getting
to
pack
their
chillums
with
hashish
in
beautiful
Nepal,
they
were
also
getting
free
food,
going
to
feature
in
a
Bollywood
movie
and
were
being
paid
to
boot!

‘Now
Dev
Saab
wanted
authenticity
in
this
sequence.
My
character,
the
drug
addled
Janice,
had
to
really
look
stoned.
And
the
easiest
way
to
achieve
this
was
to
partake
in
the
hippy
offerings!
So
there
I
was,
still
in
my
teens,
gamely
taking
long
pulls
from
their
chillum
for
take
after
take.

‘By
the
time
we
wrapped
the
day’s
work
I
was
high
as
a
kite!
I
was
in
no
state
to
return
to
the
hotel
in
that
happy,
dizzy
and
slightly
gormless
haze.
So
some
of
the
team
members
packed
me
into
a
car
and
took
me
on
a
drive
to
a
beautiful
vantage
point.
There
in
the
cold
mountain
air,
I
contemplated
the
Himalayas
and
slowly,
peacefully
came
down
from
my
high.

‘I
later
found
out
that
my
mother
was
furious
when
she
learnt
what
happened,
and
gave
the
senior
crew
members
a
sharp
tongue
lashing
for
allowing
her
precious
child
to
“do
drugs”!
Luckily,
I
was
spared
her
wrath.

‘Well,
what
can
I
say,
it
was
the
70s,
and
I
was
something
of
a
flower
child.

‘This
October,
I
will
be
in
Mumbai,
Delhi
and
Jaipur
sharing
many
such
anecdotes,
and
grooving
to
the
most
memorable
numbers
from
my
films,
all
performed
by
a
live
band.

‘This
is
a
musical
extravaganza
especially
created
for
“my
generation”
of
fans!
Don’t
forget
to
book
tickets
for
your
parents,
aunts,
uncles
and
anyone
else
who
grew
up
dancing
to
my
songs.
Yeh
Shaam
Mastani.’

Photograph
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com