Zeenat Aman recalls horse riding during third trimester of ‘Daku Haseena’
Zeenat Aman shares memories of shooting for ‘Daku Haseena’ while she was pregnant, reflects on her career and the feminist wave of the 80s.
Zeenat Aman has shared yet another post on Instagram and like all her posts, this one too has a story beautifully woven around it. This post is about ‘Daku Haseena’, which she did before taking a long break. Aman recalls how she became pregnant during the initial schedule of the film and was in her third trimester by the time the shoot was over. She admits that she was worried about the safety of the unborn child as the crew found ways to hide her pregnancy. She also recalls that her then-husband Mazhar also made a cameo in the film.
Sharing the old posters, Aman wrote, “This was one of the last films I did before my long hiatus. I got pregnant early in the shoot and was in my third trimester by the end of the shoot! My slender figure had naturally grown, so the crew took a lot of creative shots to hide my belly. Some of these involved me riding a horse, which brought its own concerns. I had a scare riding a horse during the last shoot when the poor animal ran away due to the artificial rain and loud speakers on set. I wasn’t worried about my safety, but the safety of my unborn baby was of utmost importance. Luckily, we were able to shoot these scenes without any incident.”
She further added, “One’s memory is very slippery. While watching clips from the film, I found that my children’s father Mazhar also had a special role in it. He is in a qawwali number, which I had completely forgotten!”
“Daku Haseena was released in 1987 and it was very much in tune with the mood of the time. There was a feminist storm raging in India in the 80s. Legal reforms and social awareness on gender were the talk of the town, thanks to the extraordinary female activists of the time. There was a certain air of liberation, not to mention outrage at the horrors of patriarchy, and it felt great to play a strong role! I don’t think the film did very well, but these posters are such old gems that I had to share them with you. I wish I could find more pictures from this – because I had a great look – but alas there are very few such pictures (sic),” she concluded.
This post is as follows:
Many celebrities have commented on this post.
Zeenat Aman will be seen alongside Shabana Azmi and Abhay Deol in the film ‘Bun Tikki’ directed by Faraz Arif Ansari. The film is produced by Manish Malhotra.