Zeenat Aman recalls being 'high as a kite' after filming Dum Maaro Dum song: 'I was in no state to...'

Written By Aman Wadhwa | Updated: Sep 24, 2024, 06:20 AM IST

Image credit: Instagram

Zeenat Aman recalled that she actually "took long pulls" from hashish-filled chillum to look "stoned" while shooting Dum Maro Dum song in Nepal.

Zeenat Aman walked down the memory lane on Monday, September 23, and shared an anecdote from the 1971 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. She shared that how she got 'high as a kite' after taking the 'hippy offerings', and how the crew members had to take her to a 'beautiful vantage point' till the time she got sober.

Recalling the memories, the actress shared a picture from the song and wrote, "We were in Kathmandu shooting Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and Dev Saab 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! The hippy extras were delighted with their good fortune. They were not only getting to pack their chillums with hashish in beautiful Nepal, they were also getting free food, going to feature in a Bollywood movie and were being paid to boot."

"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. By the time we wrapped the day’s work I was high as a kite! I was in no state to return to the hotel in that happy, dizzy and slightly gormless haze. So some of the team members packed me into a car and took me on a drive to a beautiful vantage point. There in the cold mountain air, I contemplated the Himalayas and slowly, peacefully came down from my high", Zeenat continued.

The Qurbani actress concluded that how her mother got furious and scolded the crew members as she stated, "I later found out that my mother was furious when she learnt what happened, and gave the senior crew members a sharp tongue lashing for allowing her precious child to "do drugs"! Luckily, I was spared her wrath. Well, what can I say, it was the 70s, and I was something of a flower child."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

Dum Maro Dum song was composed by RD Burman, written by Anand Bakshi, and sung by Asha Bhosle. The track became a chartbuster and has attained a cult status in India. Asha Bhosle even won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song featured in Hare Rama Hare Krishna helmed and headlined by Dev Anand.

READ | This film was made in Rs 40 crore, earned Rs 320 crore, Anushka Sharma was dropped, Omar Abdullah objected because...

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