Zeenat Aman opens up about the struggles of finding meaningful relationships

Veteran actress Zeenat Aman has opened up about her struggle to find meaningful relationships, attributing the challenge to her public persona overshadowing her true self. In an Instagram post shared on Monday, she reflected on her past with a nostalgic photograph and mused about the nature of meaningful connections.

The 72-year-old actress, who was first married to actor Sanjay Khan—a marriage that was annulled in 1979 following allegations of abuse—revealed that she has encountered few deep relationships. “I didn’t think much about it when I was younger, but now I’ve been reflecting on it. There’s a saying that it’s lonely at the top, but I’ve found it’s lonely at the bottom too. I’ve experienced both,” Zeenat noted. She later married actor Mazhar Khan in 1985.

Zeenat continued, “Upon examining my life closely, I’ve come to a stark realisation. Meaningful relationships have been hard to find because my public image has always overshadowed my true self.”

She elaborated on how the public’s perception of her has sometimes felt confining, despite its advantages. “With men, their intentions were often clear, which was flattering but ultimately superficial. And with women… societal pressures, especially in the past, led to comparisons that fostered envy,” she said.

Zeenat then pondered what defines a meaningful relationship for her. She believes it involves “reciprocity”—celebrating each other’s successes, supporting each other through challenges, sharing and accepting honest feedback and being able to drop one's external facades.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t had much success in finding such relationships. However, this scarcity has made me value the meaningful connections I do have even more. Maybe I’ve been a bit preachy, but my sincere hope is that everyone finds meaningful relationships, whether romantic or otherwise, to brighten their lives.”