A throwback pic featuring team Insaf Ka Tarazu. (courtesy: BombayBasanti)
Veteran actor Deepak Parashar got candid about his fondness for his Insaf Ka Tarazu co-star Zeenat Aman. In conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Deepak Parashar walked down memory lane and confessed that he was romantically involved with Zeenat Aman. However, he revealed that the two never got married, as he didn't want his wife to be in the same industry as him. Deepak Parashar said, “Zeenat has always been my favourite.” When asked if he had romantic feelings for Zeenat Aman, Deepak Parashar admitted, “Very very romantic.” When asked if the two stars were in a relationship, Deepak Parashar said, “Yes, we were very close. We were romantically close.”
Responding to why the two didn't get married, Deepak Parashar said, “Again the same thing…my mother said that ‘You have very orthodox thinking, while Zeenat Aman is a very broad-minded, well-educated, very open-minded, and well-exposed girl. So that you will never like it. You never allow women in your family to wear clothes with low necklines. So how long will this work? You must think about it. But I leave it all to you.' So maybe that is why I became very double-minded. In addition, Zeenat was also going through a bad phase because of Abbas [Sanjay Khan, whose original name is Shah Abbas Ali Khan Tanoli].”
When asked if he was referring to Sanjay Khan, Deepak Parashar shared: “Yeah. She was married, so she was going through a difficult time.” Deepak Parashar also revealed that when he was in a relationship with Zeenat Aman, she was married to Sanjay Khan. Elaborating on this, Deepak Parashar said, “She saw something in me that she thought that she could share her life with me. Share her feelings with me. Basically, a shoulder to cry. So that was how our relationship was. But her relationship at that point in life wasn't completely broken, however, it was on the verge of breakup. So it isn't like Zeenat Aman was two-timing or something like that.”
When asked if he told Zeenat Aman that he would never marry her, Deepak Parashar said, “Not everything is said out loud. Some things are only understood. And when you like each other then you don't need words. So I don't believe that two people need a marriage certificate to be together. It is not necessary. Knowing each other, living with each other and trusting each other, that is more important. Nowadays, marriage is not important. Who gets married today?”
Clarifying that Zeenat Aman wasn't heartbroken even after learning that she and Deepak Parashar won't get married, the actor said, “No, we are still friends. We are good friends. She was facing so much in her own relationship that she was more hurt by it. So this was nothing compared to that.” Deepak Parashar also admitted that Sanjay Khan was aware of Zeenat Aman being romantically involved with him. He said, “It was the start of a relationship. And Sanjay Khan knew about it.”
Zeenat Aman and Deepak Parashar shared screen space in BR Chopra's Insaf Ka Tarazu, which was released in 1980.