When Zeenat Aman Was High!

Here's another nugget from Zeenat Aman's treasure trove of life experiences.

Posting a picture from her film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Zeenat shares an anecdote: 'We were in Kathmandu shooting Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and Dev Saab had rounded up a gaggle of hippies from the streets to be featured in the song. Which song? The picture is a dead giveaway -- Dum Maro Dum, of course!

'The hippy extras were delighted with their good fortune. They were not only getting to pack their chillums with hashish in beautiful Nepal, they were also getting free food, going to feature in a Bollywood movie and were being paid to boot!

'Now Dev Saab wanted authenticity in this sequence. My character, the drug addled Janice, had to really look stoned. And the easiest way to achieve this was to partake in the hippy offerings! So there I was, still in my teens, gamely taking long pulls from their chillum for take after take.

'By the time we wrapped the day's work I was high as a kite! I was in no state to return to the hotel in that happy, dizzy and slightly gormless haze. So some of the team members packed me into a car and took me on a drive to a beautiful vantage point. There in the cold mountain air, I contemplated the Himalayas and slowly, peacefully came down from my high.

'I later found out that my mother was furious when she learnt what happened, and gave the senior crew members a sharp tongue lashing for allowing her precious child to "do drugs"! Luckily, I was spared her wrath.

'Well, what can I say, it was the 70s, and I was something of a flower child.

'This October, I will be in Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur sharing many such anecdotes, and grooving to the most memorable numbers from my films, all performed by a live band.

'This is a musical extravaganza especially created for "my generation" of fans! Don't forget to book tickets for your parents, aunts, uncles and anyone else who grew up dancing to my songs. Yeh Shaam Mastani.'

Photograph curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff.com