Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Zeenat Aman: Poetic Justice

Here is a woman who wasn’t always dealt life’s best cards, who has picked her own moment and medium to reclaim her narrative

As phenomena go, its onset was delightfully unassuming.

It is our good fortune that the star has chosen to share this precious moment of self recognition and celebration with the rest of us too. (thezeenataman/Instagram)

“Laughing at the places life takes me. Why hello there, Instagram,” the iconic actress Zeenat Aman had posted in February last year to mark her insta debut.

Accompanying this easy-breezy greeting was a portrait of the 71-year-old star, a trailblazer and one of the highest paid actresses of her era, gracefully looking into camera, the twinkling smile that had set pulses racing in her heydays very much present, but a lady with a whole new vibe: cool, calm and collected, with her senior citizen status draped confidently across her shoulders and her famous face crowned with a luminescent silver halo.

It would be futile to try and recount what a seismic effect the post had, and the torrent of delighted responses from her legion of fans welcoming her arrival on the gram. Since then the torrent has become a flood.

‘What an icon of grace, dignity, integrity and style.’

‘There are not enough adjectives to describe a person like you ‘.

‘I am never one to post comments or be starstruck. But I am so pleasantly surprised to see the person behind the star in you.’

‘A kind human being, a gentle soul with a strong spirit.’’

‘You have been one of the best things to have happened to us in 2023!’ are just a few of the comments on her timeline.

‘Since her Instagram debut earlier this year, Zeenat Aman has charmed cinephiles and netizens alike with her eloquence, wit and honesty, emerging as a sincere voice in a sea of sanitised, monetised celebrity feeds’ wrote Vogue India, while introducing a cover feature on her.

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But of course, to appreciate the true significance of Zeenat Aman’s runaway success one must consider the context in which it has been achieved.

Conventionally, the frantic, fast changing world of social media has not been regarded as the natural habitat of senior citizens; what’s more, across the world, showbiz has been notoriously unfair to ageing actresses even the most attractive and talented ones; while their male counterparts blithely go on to enjoy careers being romantically paired with girls young enough to be their granddaughters, older actresses are expected to disappear from public consciousness, or at best, be relegated to its side-lines.

Which is why Zeenat’s success on the leading social media platform, has been as extraordinary as it has been edifying.

Because at a time when the self -serving banality, blather and crass commercialisation by so called ‘influencers’ have all but swamped the platform, it has shown that there is still an audience for honest, authentic and quality communication.

“Zeenat says it as she sees it,” says media maven Rahul da Cunha, responsible for bequeathing audiences with that other sweetheart of contemporary India, the Amul girl.

“She’s always been an incredible phenomena, bold and unafraid and people love her for it.”

As significant has been the icon’s unmistakeable owning of her own narrative and refusal to play victim (‘I am neither a seductress, nor a damsel in distress. And I am certainly not a victim. There is nothing I regret, and nobody that I owe.’) and her gentle and always good humoured defiance of not only her own perceived image of a 70s flower child and sex symbol, but refreshingly other long held norms and notions, (like advocating that’ fashion not be taken too seriously’ in of all places the pages of Vogue) and her exemplary grace in dealing with people and contentious events of her celebrated life (‘My life is not defined by a few bad days that transpired many decades ago, and I need neither sympathy nor defence.’)

Equally noteworthy has been the star’s mindfulness to use Instagram as more than just a platform for memories, work and vanity, instead, infusing her interactions with a sense of responsibility, (‘I’ve noticed that many Instagram profiles are more akin to advertising billboards than blogs!) and sensitivity.

Consequently, her collaborations have been with the most exclusive people and brands (MISHO, Nykaa, Sabyasachi, Cred Club, Urban Company, Bumble) and upfront and without pretence.

What’s more, the subjects that she chooses to comment on (the female gaze, the praise of older women, LGBTQIA+ pride, rescue pets, women and equal pay, good parenting, insidious patriarchy and the joys of ageing) have been equally refreshing.

Most notedly, is the overall sense of well-being, positivity and wholesome groundedness that Zeenat exudes delivered with eloquence and exemplary self awareness that has been so welcome.

“It’s one thing to lead a fascinating life and another thing to be able to make us see it so clearly. Zeenat has had such an incredible career but no one knew she was a deft wordsmith,” says actress Soni Razdan, another strong woman from the film industry with a way with words. Others have commented on ‘Zeenat’s ‘trademark lyricism that everyone has come to know and love.’

“I haven’t seen the best of writers put out thoughts so eloquently,” says Jitesh Pillai, editor Filmfare and considered an authority on stars and their work.

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Above all, what appears to have captured the public imagination is the poetic justice behind it all. Here is a woman who wasn’t always dealt life’s best cards, who has picked her own moment and medium to reclaim her narrative and done it with dignity and without kowtowing to Bollywood, society, the media or the powers that be. It has paved the way for more women to step forward and celebrate their lives on their own terms. Moreover, it is a matter for rejoicing that with 60% of her 742K followers in the 25-44 years age group and 70% of them known to be female, Zeenat’s success has proven that authenticity, depth and dignity never go out of style. And that one’s age, gender, past or circumstances cannot hold you back.

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A few months ago, Zeenat treated her followers to a recitation of an evocative poem, Derek Walcott’s ode to the celebration of self, titled ‘Love After Love’; it could have just as well been written for her own journey.

‘The time will come/when, with elation/you will greet yourself arriving/ at your own door, in your own mirror/and each will smile at the other’s welcome…’ she recited.

It is our good fortune that the star has chosen to share this precious moment of self recognition and celebration with the rest of us too.