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Zeenat Aman birthday: Veteran Bollywood star Zeenat Aman, who turned 74 on November 19, has once again stepped into the spotlight as a fascinating behind-the-scenes story from her cult classic Hare Rama Hare Krishna resurfaces online. The actress is celebrated for redefining screen presence in the 1970s.
She once revealed that the iconic song Dum Maro Dum wasn’t just designed to look authentic. It was actually filmed with real hippies who were actually high, and Zeenat herself ended up intoxicated during the shoot.
Born in Mumbai in 1951 as Zeenat Amanullah Khan, the actress later adopted “Aman” from her father’s name. While she starred in several successful films, it was the 1971 blockbuster Hare Rama Hare Krishna that cemented her as a cultural icon, with Dum Maro Dum becoming a generational anthem.
In an old Instagram post now circulating widely, Zeenat described the surreal experience of shooting the song in Kathmandu. She revealed that Dev Anand gathered a group of hippies straight from the streets for the sequence.
She wrote, “We were shooting in Kathmandu… Dev Saab put out a call to the hippies living on the streets. Which song? ‘Dum Maro Dum!’ They were thrilled. They were getting free food, paid work, and could pack a chillum with hashish.”
Dev Anand wanted the sequence to look completely natural, and Zeenat explained that her character, Janice, had to appear genuinely intoxicated. “The simplest way was to get high with the hippies. I was a teenager then and taking long drags from their chillum through repeated takes. By the end of the day, I was stoned.”
She added that she was so disoriented that the crew had to drive her to a peaceful mountain spot, where the cold Himalayan breeze slowly helped her regain her senses.
Zeenat also revealed that her mother was extremely upset when she learned the truth. “I later heard that my mother was livid… she scolded the senior crew members for letting her innocent girl do drugs. Luckily, I escaped her wrath. Well, what can I say… it was the ’70s and I was a flower child.”
Even today, Zeenat Aman remains active on social media, sharing candid stories and unseen photos from her remarkable career.
