Before becoming one of Hindi cinema’s most celebrated stars and a style icon of the 1970s, Zeenat Aman she had imagined a very different future for herself. Despite being the daughter of a famous screenwriter Amanullah Khanbest known for writing Mughal-e-Azam, Zeenat says she neither grew up around Hindi films nor aspired to become an actor. Instead, he hoped to continue his education and pursue an academic career, possibly abroad. However, a successful stint in modeling and beauty pageants unexpectedly opened the way to movies, altering the course of her life before she could complete her graduation.Reflecting on her upbringing, Zeenat explained that her father’s film legacy had little impact on her early years because she was raised by her mother after her parents separated.“It is true that my father was a prolific writer and exceptional in the work he did in films. However, I did not live with my father. My parents separated when I was two years old, and I was raised by my mother. Of course, I love him and miss him, but there was no great cinematic influence. It was much later, as an adult, that I realized the quality of his work,” he said with Shubra Aiyappa in conversation. The veteran actor admitted that joining the film industry was never part of her original plan and that she had always seen herself pursuing higher education. “I wasn’t keen on film. I wasn’t even sure if I would live in India or join film. It was just luck. It was just a stepping stone from the modeling world, and I really thought I had a future in academia. I really wanted to study.” It was a very momentary thing.”She also revealed how disconnected she was from Hindi cinema despite her family background. “I was not exposed to Hindi cinema. I knew nothing about Hindi cinema despite my father being a writer. It was a new world.”Zeenat was only 20 when she returned to India from California. shortly after, Dev Anand he recognized her potential and offered her a breakthrough that launched her acting career. She redefined the image of the Hindi film heroine, becoming one of the industry’s most glamorous stars, a fashion trendsetter and one of the highest-paid actresses of her generation. His filmography includes acclaimed titles like Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Dharam Veer, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Don and Qurbani.Earlier, Zeenat had also acknowledged the pivotal role her mother played in shaping her career, revealing that she stepped away from her own profession to support her daughter’s journey into film. She said: “When I decided to pursue an acting career, she quit her own job to be my manager. She negotiated my contracts, invested my earnings, packed my tiffins, directed my lines, inspired my style and boosted my confidence to the nth degree.“