Zeenat Aman addresses ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’s controversy, says 'nothing obscene about the human body'

Veteran actor Zeenat Aman, who recently joined Instagram, talked about her 1978 film 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' which was criticised and accused of obscenity. She said her character Rupa’s sensuality was only a part of the plot, not the ‘crux’ of it.

Sharing the picture of the screen test, she wrote, 'Anyone acquainted with the history of Bollywood will know that there was much controversy and brouhaha about my character Rupa in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. I was always quite amused by the accusations of obscenity as I did not and do not find anything obscene about the human body.'

She added, 'I am a director’s actor and these looks were part of my job. Rupa’s sensuality was not the crux of the plot, but a part of it. As it is, the set is not even remotely a sensual space. Every move is choreographed, rehearsed, and performed in front of dozens of crew members.'

'Director Raj Kapoor (Rajji) had brought me on board the film, but was concerned about my western image. He was unsure whether the audience would accept me in this avatar, and so conducted this look test. Later, on the basis of this test, we shot a small reel picturised on Lata ji's famous song 'Jaago Mohan Pyare' from the 1956 film Jagte Raho. Rajji held a screening of the reel at R K Studios to gauge the response of his distributors to me in this role. After that first screening, the rights for all territories were immediately sold,' the actor concluded.

'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', directed by Raj Kapoor, had faced controversy for the portrayal of sexuality and the female body. Though, the Supreme Court dismissed a charge of obscenity against the film before its release.

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