Actress Zeenat Aman, long regarded as one of Hindi cinema’s most graceful and glamorous stars, has lived through moments that sharply contrasted her elegant public image.
One such moment was the shocking 1979 incident in which her eye was reportedly injured during an alleged assault involving actor Sanjay Khan.
At the time, Sanjay was married to Zarine Khan and rumours of a relationship with his Abdullah co-star Zeenat had been dominating industry gossip.
© Instagram/bollywoodtriviapc
Decades later, photographer Jayesh Sheth revisited this turbulent phase while speaking on The Pooja Bhatt Show. Jayesh recalled visiting the set of Abdullah to capture stills when Sanjay and Zeenat were in the midst of what he described as a “strong affair.”
He remembered the shoot for the song “Maine Poochha Chand Se” at RK Studios, describing how Sanjay posed easily while Zeenat was protective about her images. She allowed publication only of a couple of photos, saying she would personally choose which ones and this exchange marked the beginning of their professional bond.
Jayesh then recounted the aftermath of the notorious “incident at Taj,” which left Zeenat with a visibly injured eye. Once she recovered sufficiently, he organised a photoshoot to capture her in that phase. Jayesh described her energy during the session as fierce and charged, almost as if she were channelling her pain into strength: “her hair was open, she was lit from the back and she was giving pose after pose in vengeance.”
Despite light makeup, the swelling around her eye remained noticeable and yet the resulting images were powerful enough that Zeenat herself was stunned by them.
© Instagram/Zeenat Aman
Zeenat has previously addressed the traumatic episode during a conversation with Simi Garewal, where she spoke about mentally blocking out distressing memories as a coping mechanism.
Years later, Sanjay Khan offered his own version of events while promoting his memoir, asserting that the story surrounding the incident was distorted and motivated: “I was so pained and horrified with the one-sidedness of the entire story…” He denied ever striking Zeenat, dismissing the allegations as “blasphemy,” and insisted she continued working normally afterwards. He maintained that they even met the day after the alleged assault and that she was “perfectly fine.”
This decades-old controversy remains one of Bollywood’s most debated off-screen chapters, a mix of personal turbulence, conflicting accounts and an actress who transformed her vulnerability into an unforgettable moment of resilience.