The construction of 1970s femininity, or why Zeenat Aman sings the same song twice

Abstract

This paper examines how Zeenat Aman helped inaugurate new forms of sexuality and femininity in 1970s Bollywood. Along with redefining the rules of a screen heroine's identity, Aman also created a range of grey characters such as Sheetal in Manoj Kumar's Roti Kapada aur Makaan (1974) and Sheela in Feroz Khan's Qurbani (1980). These roles became associated with hugely popular songs of the period, lip-synched by Aman, including ‘Aap jaisa koi,’ from Qurbani, and ‘Main naa bhoolunga’, from Roti Kapada aur Makaan. This paper explores how these repeated song sequences reflect Aman's positioning within these narratives even as they allow her to reshape her role in innovative ways. In this way, this paper examines how Zeenat Aman deviated from earlier binary models imposed upon Bollywood heroines, pitting heroine against vamp and, in the process, created new modes of femininity and female agency within these films.