Last Update: June 18, 2023, 5:58 pm IST
On Father’s Day, Zeenat Aman penned an emotional post about her father.
Zeenat Aman also shared that she feels that her father Amanullah Khan never got his due as a writer.
On Father’s Day, veteran actress Zeenat Aman took a trip down memory lane to share a happy childhood picture with her father. He also penned a long note remembering his fondest moments with her and shared funny anecdotes. In the same note, she also mentioned how she felt that her father never got ‘his due’ as a writer.
Zeenat shared the black and white photo on Instagram and described the time the photo was taken, “This precious photo was taken in a photo studio when I was a child. My father is sitting behind me, and another relative is in front. My father Amanullah Khan came from a royal family. His mother Akhtar Jahan Begum was a first cousin with the last ruler of Bhopal State, His Highness Nawab Hamidullah Khan.
He added, “Aman sahib, as he was known, was one of eight siblings, and he led a leisurely life in Bhopal. As he grew up he was considered very handsome. And his cousin Al Nasir came to Mumbai to see if he could find fame and fortune in Hindi cinema.
She tells how her parents first met, got married and then separated. “He met my mother Vardhini Scindia socially at a party in the city. They had a whirlwind courtship and soon married. Unsurprisingly, neither family approved. She was a practicing Hindu and she belonged to a strong Muslim family. He said, “On the homefront, my parents decided to separate a few years after I was born. I stayed with my mother, and my father moved to a sprawling bungalow on Mount Mary Hill in Bandra. I remember that I used to go on long walks with him during which he fed me ice cream. He told me stories and recited Urdu poems, some of which he composed especially for me. He also wrote beautiful letters in English to my mother and me. Used to write.
Zeenat then reveals how her father became a writer after a brief acting career. “After a brief acting career, Aman Sahab became a writer. Among other projects, he most famously worked on the screenplay and dialogues for Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah. Although he was highly talented and respected as a writer, I don’t think he ever got his due. I think writers rarely do this.
On a closing note, she revealed why she chose her father’s name as her surname. “These are some of the memories of my father. He passed away at the young age of 41, when I was still in school. I wish I would have got a chance to spend more time with him. To get to know her not only through the lens of a child, but as a teen and adult. One of the few possessions that is close to my heart is a volume of Urdu poetry that he wrote. I hope someday it will be translated and published. No one is ever too old to miss their parents. On Father’s Day, I am thinking of my father, Amanullah Khan, whose name I chose to make mine.”