Hyderabad: Veteran actor Zeenat Aman on Tuesday shared an intriguing behind-the-scenes story from her experience shooting the iconic song Dum Maro Dum from the 1971 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. The 72-year-old actor took to Instagram on Monday night to recount how she had to appear convincingly stoned for her role as Jasbir 'Janice' Jaiswal, a character who had drifted into a drug-filled life with hippies. To bring authenticity to her portrayal, Aman revealed that she smoked real marijuana with actual hippies while filming in Nepal.
Taking to Instagram, Zeenat dropped a still from the song and wrote, "We were in Kathmandu shooting Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and Dev Saab (Dev Anand) had rounded up a gaggle of hippies from the streets to be featured in the song. Which song? The picture is a dead giveaway - Dum Maro Dum of course!"
"Now Dev Saab wanted authenticity in this sequence. My character, the drug-addled Janice, had to really look stoned. And the easiest way to achieve this was to partake in the hippy offerings! So there I was, still in my teens, gamely taking long pulls from their chillum for take after take," she wrote.
Aman candidly admitted that by the time filming wrapped for the day, she was "high as a kite." Unable to return to the hotel in her "dizzy and gormless" state, she was taken by drive-by crew members to a scenic spot in the mountains, where she gradually sobered up while contemplating the Himalayas.
The actor also revealed that her mother was furious upon discovering what had happened, scolding the senior crew for allowing her teenage daughter to smoke marijuana during filming. Fortunately for Aman, she managed to escape her mother's wrath.
In the same post, Aman announced that she would be touring Mumbai, Delhi, and Jaipur in October to share more such stories from her career. The tour will feature a live band performing some of her most memorable songs, offering fans from her generation a chance to relive the magic. "Yeh Shaam Mastani," she wrote, urging fans to book tickets for their loved ones who grew up dancing to her timeless numbers.
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