Zeenat Aman has been the cynosure of all eyes on social media ever since she made her Instagram debut a few months ago. The actress' priceless collection of pictures and impeccable captions have won hearts on the internet and placed the spotlight on the ‘70s superstar once again. Now, in an essay for Vogue, Zeenat Aman has opened up about how social media has placed her in the driver's seat of her own narrative, making it a "liberating" experience. “I didn't realise how much being able to publicly speak my own truths would delight me. As a leading actor in the '70s, I was always a subject of conversation, but almost never on my own terms. The gossip and perceptions could be suffocating, and there was rarely recourse to set the record straight. On Instagram, I have found the freedom to express myself. It's liberating, and consequently, I haven't accepted a single interview request that's come my way since February,” the actress wrote.
Zeenat Aman also added that it was her son Zahaan and his partner, Cara, who convinced her to join Instagram. She confessed that she had several “trepidations” about joining the photo-sharing app, but they convinced her to give it a shot.
That's not all. Zeenat Aman also made a rather telling statement on how the industry treats talent and in particular, female artists. Explaining that there was also more interest in her physical attributes than her intelligence. She said, “Over the years, I've worn it all (and nearly bared it all) and had great fun doing it. I realised early on that the world desired youth and beauty from women in the film industry. So, I leveraged my looks, but I also chose roles that pushed the envelope. Still, there was far more interest in my face and figure than there ever was in my intellect. This is one reason that I have loved ageing—it has evened the scales.”
As mentioned above, Zeenat Aman's social media handle is a beautiful mix of anecdotes and timeless pictures. She also always keeps it real with her social media tribe. A case in point is an image that Zeenat Aman shared a few weeks ago. The picture in question is a behind-the-scenes click of a photoshoot where Zeenat Aman is being attended to, by her team.
Educating her followers on the mirage that social media can often be, Zeenat Aman said in the caption, “The flawless faces on your screen are made possible by an army of technicians - makeup artists, hairdressers, lighting personnel, stylists, camerapersons, and increasingly photoshop experts I hear! Remember that we're performers, this is our job. Enjoy the aesthetics, be inspired, but take it all with more than a pinch of salt. Life is too short for looking good to get in the way of having fun, right?”
Zeenat Aman is best known for her work in iconic films like Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Don, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Hare Rama Hare Krishna.