When Pregnant Zeenat Aman Became Daku Hasina

Zeenat Aman remembers her 1987 film Daku Hasina, directed by Ashok Rao, starring Rajnikanth and Rakesh Roshan, which she shot during a pregnancy.

She writes, 'Daku Hasina was your classic story of vengeance.'

'Roopa, orphaned when her parents are killed by powerful village overlords, seeks the help of infamous dacoit Mangal Singh (The iconic Rajinikanth in one of his few Bollywood cameos) to extract revenge.

'Under his guidance, she transforms into the ruthless Daku Hasina, and so begins her reign of terror.

'The police scramble to apprehend her, but ah! There is a twist in the tale. What is the relationship between SP Ranjit Saxena (played by none other than @rakesh_roshan9) and the lady dacoit?'

'This was one of the last films I did before my extended hiatus. I became pregnant early on in the shoot, and by the end of filming was well into my third trimester!

'My svelte figure had naturally ballooned, so to hide my belly the crew came up with various creative shots. Some of these involved me riding a horse, which brought its own concerns.

'I had had a scare on horseback during a previous shoot, when the poor animal had bolted because of the artificial rain and blaring speakers on set.

'I wasn't nervous about my own safety, but the safety of the child in my womb was of utmost importance. Luckily, we were able to shoot these scenes without any incident.

'One's memory is such a slippery thing. While looking up clips from the film, I found that Mazhar (Khan), the father of my children, also had a special appearance in it.

'He's there in the qawwali number, which I had clean forgotten!'

'Daku Hasina released in 1987, and it was quite true to the mood of the time. A feminist storm was sweeping through India in the 80s.

'Legal reforms and social awareness on gender were the talk of town, thanks to the exceptional women activists of the time.

'There was a certain air of liberation, not to mention indignation at the horrors of the patriarchy, and it felt oh so good to play an ass-kicking role!

'I don't think the film did very well, but these posters are such vintage gems that I just had to share them with you.

'I wish I could find more stills from it -- because my look was just so cool -- but alas there seem to be very few out there.'