Zeenat Aman discloses she bought tickets for her own films, throwback photo reveals Uttam Kumar in the audience

Yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman recently reminisced her magical experience and connection to Cinema since childhood, with an interesting post on Instagram. The actress uploaded two photos, one of her current look and age, along with an old black and white photo from the 1970s. Though both the photos feature Zeenat Aman, the first one was taken of her “raucous and carefree” self, last year at Kolkata’s Regal Cinema, where her Don (1978) was screened.  

Uttam Kumar and Zeenat Aman as members of the same audience

While the second was of a “demure and a tad self conscious” Aman at “a theatre in Calcutta sometime in the late 70s”. The iconic and perhaps unintentional reveal sat two seats away from the actress, smoking a cigarette and enjoying the film. It was none other than Bengal’s Mahanayak, or the greatest actor, Uttam Kumar himself, charming and eye-catching as ever in any shot. Sadly, Suchitra Sen was missing from the photo and audience.

The actress then began her prosaic ode to the magic of Cinema with a fond memory of Sundays spent at her Panchganj boarding school. Sundays were movie days and a much-anticipated treat for all the girls. As they entered their gymnasium for the screening, their hearts would be ready to be teleported into an alternate dreamy realm where anything is possible.  

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Zeenat Aman's first movie star crush

The actress remembered her “first silver screen crush” which had been Paul Newman in The Silver Chalice. Zeenat Aman amusingly noted how her heart had fluttered, along with many others, for the dashing actor.The actress then moved on to her chance entry into the film industry and the thrill of being in front of the camera. But she acknowledged that being a member of the audience is more fun, and how?  

The actress bought tickets for her own films to gauge the audience’s reaction physically, and often donned a burkha to avoid recognition. Later, slightly outgrowing this habit, Zeenat Aman would enter the cinema late and leave early to avoid being “mobbed”. Zeenat Aman then acknowledged that nowadays, perhaps, due to the sheer mass of content, the thrill of going for a good film might have been dulled.  

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But she called out to her older followers, who might still remember the erstwhile novelty and thrill of going to the cinema halls for a movie. The actress ended her post by explaining the chronology of the two photos, taken “some 40 years apart” and thrilling us with the vintage slice of time that also featured Bengal’s eternal heartthrob, Uttam Kumar. 

Also read: KLIKK brings Uttam Kumar’s films in July