Zeenat Aman reveals why Feroz Khan cut her pay on ‘Qurbani’ set

Veteran actor Zeenat Aman recalled in a social media post the time when late director Feroz Khan cut her pay on the ‘Qurbani’ set. She took to Instagram and penned down a long note. She wrote, “I read somewhere that Oxford’s word for the year 2023 is ‘rizz’ – short for ‘charisma’. Well, if I’ve ever known anybody to have rizz, it was Feroz Khan.”

The actor also recalled the 1970s, when her career was on the rise and Feroz approached her to offer her a role in his future ……play. She added, “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.” “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.”

“I often discuss set etiquette in my captions, so I’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. 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,” she added.

“Feroz was glowering behind his camera, and before I could offer him my meagre excuse, he cut me down to size. ‘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!”

‘Qurbani’ was released in 1980. It was directed by Feroz Khan, who also acted in the film alongside Vinod Khanna, Zeenat Aman, Amjad Khan and others. The movie revolves around two friends, Rajesh (played by Vinod Khanna) and Amar (played by Feroz Khan), who find themselves entangled in a web of crime and deceit. The film explores themes of friendship, betrayal, and revenge, and it was a commercial success during its time.

Zeenat made her Instagram debut in February. She keeps on sharing reflective thoughts on topics ranging from parenthood, the privacy of celebrities, dyeing hair and many more things. Zeenat will be next seen in ‘Bun Tikki.’ Produced by Manish Malhotra, the film also stars Shabana Azmi and Abhay Deol.

The famous actor has given several hits such as ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, ‘Qurbaani’, ‘Dhund’, ‘Don’, ‘Manoranjan’ and ‘Yaadon Ki Baarat’. She was known for playing unconventional roles in her era when many actors were reluctant to take on those roles.