Veteran actress Zeenat Aman, celebrated for her gracious stories and eternal elegance, recently treated fans to a throwback. Recalling the shoot of the iconic 1980s hit ‘Samundar Mein Naha Ke’ with megastar Amitabh Bachchan, she recalled vivid experiences from the balmy Goa shoot that was a part of Ramesh Behl’s movie Pukar.
Sizzling Summer Memory of Zeenat Aman
In a frank Instagram post, Zeenat Aman started, “Uff… I’ll be frank. It’s a gratuitous post induced by the summer. It’s simply so damn hot! The weather, that is. Although I shan’t be too coy to admit Mr Bachchan and I getting all romantic to those salted lines are pretty sizzling as well.”
Zeenat showed her fans the way back to the early 80s when Goa was “quiet, idyllic, and unpeopled.” She disclosed, “Director-producer Ramesh Behl’s Pukar was a blast to shoot. Its anti-colonial underpinning, excellent cast, and catchy songs were what drew me to the script.”
The music of Samundar Mein Naha Ke was filmed on an otherwise deserted beach, and Aman describes it as a laid-back shoot — at least for her. “I didn’t have any lip-syncing to do, nor much choreography to learn,” she wrote.
Shooting in a White Outfit and Surviving the Waves
The brief for Zeenat’s appearance in the song was simple. “The brief was as basic as they come – look pretty! So there I was in a titillating white outfit, with a bit of midriff on display, rolling around in the surf, while Mr Bachchan pranced around me like an ardent bird-of-paradise.”
Though the background was idyllic, the shoot wasn’t without its problems. Zeenat openly admitted to not knowing how to swim. “My otherwise seamless performance was hindered by one small fact – I can’t swim! I had to swallow a fair amount of nerves (and seawater) for those shots of me writhing in the swash!”
In spite of the bodily discomfort, she accepted the setting with dignity. “Despite taking a few tumbles in the waves and being left with sand in uncomfortable places, I thought I did a convincing job of being a jal pari (mermaid),” she went on.
Inviting her fans to share some joy this summer, Zeenat concluded, “Whether in romantic or platonic relationships, share this post with anyone who deserves a beachside getaway this summer”
Amitabh Bachchan’s Return to the Set in Triumph
Zeenat also told a poignant piece of trivia. “P.S.: Here’s another tidbit for you. This was Mr Bachchan’s first shoot after the life-threatening accident he suffered on the sets of Coolie in 1982. Bachchan mania was well-established in the country by then, and the nation practically held its breath till he was in the clear.”
She brought out the relevance of that day: “So as you can imagine, the atmosphere on set was particularly buoyant during the making of this film.”
The post not only caused fans to recall a golden period of Hindi films but also danced in praise of resilience, nostalgia, and the long-lasting beauty of two celluloid legends.