The crowd erupts into a spontaneous applause when Zeenat Aman, still stunningly elegant comes on stage. Her acting is easy and effortless, her Hindi diction perfect. In Chupke Chupke, the play directed by Ramesh Talwar, she plays the role of a woman determined to fight for social acceptance and respectability. Chupke Chupke is being staged around the country, the play was brought to Boston by the PTI media network, creators of the popular new area TV show ‘What’s Up.’

Lokvani caught up with the talented and beautiful Ms. Aman as she was leaving Boston. Over the phone, I found her a lot of fun as she came across as a very well-spoken, energetic, affable and clearly intelligent person. There wasn't the least hint of the iciness which one associates with her image. There also was no hint of airs, ego--just a nice, very real voice on the other end of the line. With most of my carefully thought out questions cast aside, I just sat back and listened and was surprised to discover that she answered many of my questions openly and with great candor.

Chitra Parayath : How come you are leaving Boston so quickly, you just got here!

Zeenat – Boston is very nice, I wish we could spend more time here but there isn’t enough time as we have a show tomorrow! I’d love to come back and spend more time here.

Chitra : How does it feel to be acting on stage as opposed to facing the camera?
Zeenat : I love acting. Period. For me, the medium is not so important, I love both acting in films as well as on the stage. Of course an actor shoulders more responsibility on stage, whereas in Films, it is the director’s medium.
And on stage there is no chance for a retake. A lot of responsibility is shouldered by the actor. It is also more instinctual than acting in front of a camera. On stage, there are no second chances, you have got to understand your character and the intricacies of the role even more thoroughly before you set out.

Chitra : How did you prepare yourself for the role? Your Hindi was impeccable!

Zeenat : : We rehearsed for nearly two months. The stage is an entirely different process and I was constantly asking my director what and when and why in order to understand and grasp my role in its entirety. I wanted to retain my spontaneity and get everything right as I was performing for the first time on stage. I also took extra care with my Hindi dialogues.

Chitra : How do you find Ramesh Talwar as a director?
Zeenat : : Ramesh is a great director and source of inspiration for all of us. He succeeds in getting the best out of all the actors. I have enjoyed working with him so much.

Chitra : There are many interesting and meaningful roles for women your age in Hollywood. How come we don’t see that happen in Bollywood? Do you get interesting role offers?

Zeenat : ( Laughs) I do agree that there is alack of challenging and meaning ful roles for mature actresses. We have to change that! Maybe it is because men are at the helm of things there. May be we should get together, all of us mature actresses and figure out a way to beat this trend. I liked Dimple’s role in Leela but how many of those do you see nowadays?

Chitra : Do you have any new projects in the offing?
Zeenat – There are a couple of interesting prospects, it’s too early to talk about them. I also have a role in Kaizad Gustaad’s Boom.

Chitra : From ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ to 'Chupke Chupkey’, do you think you have grown as an actress ?
Zeenat : I like to think that I have. I have had the opportunity to work with the greatest actors and directors and I do think that I have matured as an actress. Through the many years, I have learnt so much from my acting experiences and I am sure I will continue to learn more !

Chitra: And why this decision to come back to acting?

Zeenat: Like I said earlier, acting is in my blood, I have done this for so many years, now that my sons have grown up, I can spend more time, acting.

Chitra : Thank you for talking to Lokvani.

Lokvani would like to thank Mr. Harbal Singh and Mr. Shailesh Baid for making this interview possible.

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