I Never Slapped Zeenat Aman, This Was A Kind Of Well-Planned PR Attack Against Me : Sanjay Khan

By

Tanveer Zaidi  (Actor-Author-Educationist)

It was 1979-80, and Zeenat Aman was every man’s dream girl, on the other side girls were crazy for handsome hunk Sanjay Khan, who was one of the top stars of Bollywood during that time.

Sanjay Khan was married to a Gorgeous lady Zarine Khan. Sanjay was shooting for Abdullah with Zeenat Aman, Both of the actors fell in love with each other on the sets.

An article in Cine Blitz dating back to 1980 was published that shook the entire Bollywood.

Cine Blitz alleged Sanjay Khan of beating Zeenat Aman black and Blue at a five-star hotel in Mumbai, in the presence of several onlookers who did not lift a finger to help her.

The Allegations were considered true.

 Because there was no clarification or denial from Sanjay Khan.

Sanjay Khan had the same kind of image that Salman Khan earlier had. Sanjay and Salman have many things in common.

Sanjay Khan was known as a difficult star to handle.

 He was considered a wild lion, no journalist was courageous enough to ask Sanjay Khan about the incident, and not even Industry insiders dared to ask him, Have you beaten your wife Zeenat Aman?” it was like putting your hand inside a lion’s mouth.

People believed that ” It would have happened.”

Later, Prakash Mehra said to a group of Journalists, “My first choice has been Sanjay Khan for every film, but who wanna be beaten up by his actor.”

Zeenat Aman had quite a stormy romance with Sanjay Khan. The two tied the knot in 1978, despite Sanjay already being married, but their marriage ended just two years later amid allegations of abuse.

 Reports suggest that during a heated argument, Sanjay slapped Zeenat hard enough to injure her left eye. However, Sanjay Khan has the correct version of the alleged incident.

In a recent radio interview, Sanjay Khan addressed the abuse claims, saying that after Abdullah was released, he received many film offers but turned them down.

He said, “Post the release of Abdullah, I had gotten offers from many producers to work in some big films, which I didn’t take.

 I was in self-exile for four years. I was so pained and horrified by the one-sidedness of the entire story.

 Nobody even asked me what happened. This was a kind of well-planned PR attack against me. It came like a blitzkrieg and mentally I was very disturbed.

The facts were totally and radically opposite. I was even accused of being responsible for her losing her eye. This is not right.”

He said that from 1981 to 1984, she appeared in many films and had no eye issues.

 Later, she developed a slight squint, which he claimed was hereditary, not from him. “If you look from 1981 to 1984, she has done several films and has perfect eyes.

 Later on in life, she became a little bit squint because her mother was squinted a little bit. This was the true story.

 It was hereditary and was labeled on me that I slapped her. I never slapped her. This was blasphemy.

I have always respected all the leading ladies I worked with, and never had an incident with anybody.

I don’t have any angst against the lady concerned. This was exaggerated to the point one could not believe and it was done by one particular journalist who had some angst with me. As a result, I did not work in films for 4-5 years. This incident kept me back because I was very unjustly treated. It was not true,” he added.

Sanjay Khan said that rumors about the incident affected him. He noted, “It mentally tortured me. I met her the very next day and she was perfectly okay. Then the press started this nonsense. One thing is very pertinent to note that neither Raj Kapoor nor Dev Anand called me even once to ask me what happened. Raj Kapoor was very close to me and I also knew Dev Sahab, I respected him a lot. If they felt some injury was done by me to her, they would have asked me, especially Raj ji. So it speaks a lot about the person. I have not harmed anyone in my life. I have never harmed her or disturbed her mentally. It was a one-sided thing.

About The Star Sanjay Khan :

Sanjay Khan was considered a big star in Bollywood, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, known for his roles in superhit films like Dus Lakh, Ek Phool Do Mali, Mela, and Dhund, often referred to as the “Golden Boy of Bollywood” due to his popularity during that era;

He gained significant stardom with films like Dus Lakh (1966) and Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), which established him as one of the top stars in the Indian Film Industry.

He often co-starred with his elder brother Feroz Khan in movies like Upaasna Nagin and a few others.

Later in his career, he ventured into producing and directing films like Chandi Sona and the critically acclaimed Abdullah.

His most prominent role in later years was in the historical television series the Sword of Tipu Sultan where he faced a severe accident on set.

He was 90 percent burnt when a heavy fire burnt the entire set of The Sword Of Tipu Sultan, but still, Sanjay Khan completed the project.