Zeenat Aman shares an anecdote on landing her iconic role in Raj Kapoor's 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', ahead of his centennial

As the 100th birth anniversary of the legendary Raj Kapoor approaches, veteran actress Zeenat Aman has revisited a defining moment in her career. In a heartfelt social media post, she shared the story of how she landed the iconic role of Rupa in his 1978 masterpiece, Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

The anecdote begins during the filming of another project, Vakil Babu, where Zeenat Aman was co-starring with Kapoor's younger brother, Shashi Kapoor. 'Raj ji was playing the titular role, while his younger brother Shashi Kapoor and I were playing leading roles as each other’s love interests. In between takes, while the technicians changed sets and rigged lights, we cast members often found ourselves with time to kill. Now Raj ji had a radical approach to his art, and he was brimming with enthusiasm for a film he wanted to make. For days he regaled us with his idea for a story about a man who falls in love with a woman’s voice but can’t quite reconcile himself to her appearance. He spoke with unfettered and rousing passion, but never once even hinted that I could be a part of this film. I was already a star in my own right, and his lack of interest in casting me began to chafe. I knew that my “modern image”, complete with mini skirts and boots, was the culprit. So I determined to take matters into my own hands," she wrote in the caption.

Determined to change his perception, she devised a daring plan. "I knew that Raj ji spent much of his spare time at ‘The Cottage’ set on the grounds of his sprawling R.K. Studio. It was here that he would hold meetings or host small events, often presiding over these gathering from a pristine mattress placed on the floor. So I made my move. One evening, having wrapped up early from shoot, I spent an extra 30 minutes in my dressing room making myself up in my own interpretation of Rupa. I put on a ghagra choli, braided my hair with a parandi, and then stuck tissue paper onto my face with glue in an effort to scar my visage.

Zeenat's disguise caught the attention of Raj Kapoor's 'right-hand man', John, who was initially puzzled but conveyed her request to the legendary filmmaker. "He looked quizzically at me but followed my request - “Saabji ko kaho ki Rupa ayi hai (Tell Raj sir that Rupam has arrived).”

Zeenat left the story on a cliffhanger. Zeenat promises to continue the story in following days. As the plot thickens on this story, the climax of which Zeenat calls "A defining anecdote from my career", we can be sure to enamoured by the stars and their stories.