'Now when I'm a mother and have two sons, I do look back and say, "Oh my God! What was I thinking?"'
Age is just a number for Zeenat Aman, who turns 74 on November 19.
"A woman can be sexy at any age," she told Subhash K Jha, in a throwback interview.
"What Sophia Loren has done is amazing. I don't know why women, after a certain age, are disqualified from being sexy in this country. Men continue to be eligible for romance and love till the age of 70 and 80. Why can't a woman be attractive forever?
"I think a woman should be allowed to celebrate her femininity for as long as she wants. I don't know why once you're a wife and a mother, you're put in a straitjacket. A mom can be sexy too."
About being a trendsetter, Zeenat says, "It's very flattering to be considered sexy after a certain age in this country where after 40, women are no longer given the right to remain attractive.
"If today, female actors in our country show spunk after a certain age, it says a lot about how far we've progressed. Fifty years ago when I came in, things were so different. But I chose to be who I was and what I was. I believed in myself. That belief was never belied by the way I was projected on screen."
The trendsetting actress credits her directors with her iconic looks.
"Often, an actress ends up looking unaesthetic because of the way she's presented. I was fortunate to work with some of the finest and most aesthetic filmmakers of our country like Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Manmohan Desai, who knew how to make woman look lovely.
"Today, I giggle about labels like 'Zeenie Baby' but a lot of my confidence in my physicality came from my background.
"I came from a very cosmopolitan background. I studied in America. I had a Hindu mother, a Muslim father, a German stepfather... I was very comfortable with who I was, very comfortable with my physicality. There was no trace of awkwardness," she says.
Zeenat admits the skin show in Satyam Shivam Sundaram crossed boundaries.
"I have to admit that the nudity did get a bit excessive in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. But I believed so much in Raj Kapoorsaab that I never questioned his vision. Now when I'm a mother and have two sons, I do look back and say, 'Oh my God! What was I thinking?' Fortunately, my two boys never questioned me about my image."
Zeenat sees promising opportunities for actors of her age.
"Leading ladies of my age are definitely not withering away. Whether it's Shabana (Azmi) or Dimple (Kapadia), they're doing wonderful work. I personally haven't been offered anything that exciting.
"My sexy image came in the way of making the transition into a maturer slot. At my age, producers don't know what to do with me.
"In our sub-continent, women beyond a certain age are slotted as wives and mothers. Most actresses are put into slots and you have to function within those."
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff