‘Feroz and I had a rocky start’

Veteran star Zeenat Aman went down memory lane and recalled how she joined the cast of Qurbani, which released in 1980.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Zeenat shared a still from the film, directed by and starring Feroz Khan.

It also stars Vinod Khanna, Amjad Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Aruna Irani, Amrish Puri and Kader Khan.

The film was famous for its music, especially the disco song Aap Jaisa Koi sung by Pakistani popstar Nazia Hassan and Laila O Laila.

Alongside the still where she described Feroz as “charismatic”, Zeenat wrote, “I read somewhere that Oxford’s word for the year 2023 is “rizz” – short for ‘charisma’. Well, if l’ve ever known anybody to have rizz, it was Feroz Khan.”

The actress then revealed that her start with the late actor was not easy.

“Feroz and I had a rocky start. It was the 70s, my star was on the rise, and he called me on the telephone to offer me a role in his upcoming production. It was a secondary part, and so I politely refused the offer. Feroz was incensed and let out a stream of expletives while I held the receiver away from my ear!” She wrote.

However, she got a call months later by him again.

“Many months later, he called again. This time he started his pitch by saying — ‘it’s the lead role so don’t reject it’. And that’s how I joined the cast of Qurbani,” she said.

“I often discuss set etiquette in my captions, so l’d be amiss to neglect Feroz’s influence on me in this regard. I was quite a diligent worker, but on one occasion my youth got the better of me.”

She talked about how she got late by an hour for work after partying the night before and what followed after Zeenat shared.

“Though we had an early call time the next day, I agreed to go out to a party. It was a fantastic night of dance and drink, and unsurprisingly I landed up one hour late to set.

“Feroz was glowering behind his monitor, and before I could offer him my meagre excuse, he cut me down to size.” She added, “Begum, you’re late and you’re going to pay for the delay.” No argument, no scolding, but you can be sure that he docked my pay to pay the crew for that one hour delay!

“Feroz was suave, charming and polished. He was a talented actor-director, and Qurbani remains one of my favourite projects to date.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this anecdote and I hope 2024 is off to a roaring start for you!”