What was so special about Zeenat Aman?

I saw a few of her films, and don't get all the hoopla (erstwhile) around her. She was pretty much a non-looker and an average actress.

well beauty is subjective I personally find her gorgeous, she started off from Miss India I believe and went to be Miss Asia Pacific. Her first few films flop and she was written off till she met Dev Anand, he was looking for a lighter and she lite his cigarette and he was impressed with her boldness because women back then didn't do that. she bagged Hare Krishna Hare Ram(first hit). Which is mostly what success based from, she was bold, she wasn't afraid to wear the mini skirt,the cliche back then. She was the first to do that,later came Parveen,etc(which drew to her decline Parveen was a good actress,lucky for her Parveen's illness made her lose some roles)

Hotness, Style, Unconventional beauty , Height

^^The sex appeal part of her is what I don't get, actually. 😆

Originally posted by: Rangeelaa

well beauty is subjective I personally find her gorgeous, she started off from Miss India I believe and went to be Miss Asia Pacific. Her first few films flop and she was written off till she met Dev Anand, he was looking for a lighter and she lite his cigarette and he was impressed with her boldness because women back then didn't do that. she bagged Hare Krishna Hare Ram(first hit). Which is mostly what success based from, she was bold, she wasn't afraid to wear the mini skirt,the cliche back then. She was the first to do that,later came Parveen,etc(which drew to her decline Parveen was a good actress,lucky for her Parveen's illness made her lose some roles)

She was a NRI so I guess that created more buzz ,then the whole Sanjay Khan thing. She got lucky with good movies after HKHR. She was never a good actress lol (I still love her but lbr, much better than most actress today thou) but she was a good eye candy. Still not remembered for her acting but made a good impact in the industry 😊

hey

Zeenat wasn't known for her acting chops. She was known for revolutionizing the image of the Indian heroine by taking up "bold" roles that not many took in that time period. Plus, she was known for her glamorous, "western" sex appeal which is still touted about. When Bipasha, Priyanka started playing bold roles in the early-mid 2000s, many articles compared them to Zeenat and Parveen because these were the two sex symbols of the 70s and 80s that had no qualms about wearing revealing outfits or playing roles with grey shades. As for her looks, that is a matter of opinion, I found her gorgeous and sexy in her old films, so do many other people that is why she's known for the same. But beauty is a subjective concept, so not all have to agree on this.

One simple reason that set her apart-- she was the only actress of that time who had sex appeal, and man, what sex appeal!!

Getting half-naked does not equal sex appeal in my book. To say that she was the only one from her generation to exude such appeal is incorrect in my opinion. Personally I find her pretty - but for example Rekha was the ultimate sultry siren of the seventies.

she was a trend setter a path breaker thats why she would be remembered forever. In an era where heroines were going for a certain look traditional saree clad with a certain character...she emerged as the opposite and created a trend of her own which many followed later on like Parveen babi

Interesting. Aside from the fact that people found/find her (or rather her image) sexy, a lot seem to find her good-looking as well. I don't get either of the two. 😆
But glad to see universal consensus on her disastrous 'acting' skills.