TeaHe Laila I Laila Star Zeenat Aman is barefoot, gray haired and rides an auto-rickshaw. Her life on Instagram is a stark contrast to her glamorous, uber-Western image from the 1970s and 1980s. And he has re-invented ‘chill’ in his own way. She is not thirsty for likes and followers. He is satisfied, and that is his content.
When Aman joined Instagram earlier this month, it was quiet. There wasn’t much fanfare – she still only has around 52.8k followers, a tiny number compared to her celebrity stature. It makes sense. There’s an intimacy to each of her posts – almost as if she’s giving you access to parts of herself only some get to see.
Aman is bare foot in his first post. She is wearing a striped linen co-ord set. Her hair falls softly over her shoulders, and her makeup looks minimal. “Laughing at where life takes me. Why hello there, Instagram,” reads the caption.
old face, fresh face
Celebrity social media crafted for performance, carefully curated by skilled marketing teams. This isn’t unique to the younger generation of actors—from Neena Gupta to Amitabh Bachchan, they’ve all transformed into their most consumer-friendly-selves. Everything is for sale: their clothes, hotel rooms, and belongings.
This isn’t to say that Aman’s Instagram feed isn’t at par with his older colleagues. But there is an unmistakable ease in his posts. She creates a warm and casual space that is open to all. It’s almost as if you’re sitting next to her, listening intently as she regales you with stories from her past and present and gives insight into the issues with all-consuming fame.
For the generations that have grown up seeing her as the epitome of beauty and the embodiment of every ideal, Aman’s most obvious feature is her short and completely silver hair. In a society and industry where women will use every means possible to resist aging, her gray locks make a statement.
“Initially I was reluctant to stop coloring my hair, and I was strongly advised against it. Some well-wishers even said that this would negatively impact my job opportunities. Once I pondered over my own hesitation I realized that I don’t really care for the youth idol of our society,” Aman wrote in the caption of one of his posts, where he was at a “friend’s house Looks like having fun. Alibag.
Aman’s other captions are similar- beautiful, reflective rhetoric from an icon who has spent decades in the public eye and knows how to play on his audience. She’s making it real in an Instagram success-glorious hyper-sharing age.
Aman against an ad shot for Taj Mahal tea at the age of 16, says, “Before beauty pageants and cinema and before I became ‘Zeenat Aman’, I was just a determined schoolgirl with a photogenic face Was.” Such ads and pictures in which Aman looks fabulous (as always) are all over Instagram. However, joining the platform has allowed Aman to take control of his story and carve it the way he wants; Not to be taken down by the paparazzi or reporters, which has probably been the case her entire career.
Aman’s latest post is a masterclass in celebrity behavior – as she treads the line between life and her right to privacy as a public figure. Recognizing their coexistence, he Call The invasion is “a drag on everyone involved that prevents us from reaching new ideas and higher levels of conversation.”
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making its way in a sea of equality
A Man calls himself A “notoriously private person” who has deliberately attracted attention. “I consciously stayed away from social media. It has been an informed decision. But I’ve had my fair share of trolling in my time with all these magazines. That would be something really weird to deal with every month,” she Said PTI.
On some level, her Instagram account makes her vulnerable to public scrutiny. She shares anecdotes from her career that would be every greedy interviewer’s dream. The comment section can serve as an open invitation for trolling. But surprisingly, the comments on Aman’s posts are mostly positive, which is very different from what one usually sees on celebrity social media accounts.
Instagram is just like the glamor magazines of today. After all, public perception hinges on how much stars spend on themselves—an often brutal exercise. Despite all their fancy attire, celebrities are exposed and vulnerable, and their ‘fans’, like vultures, are ready to consume whatever is left. Aman’s debut is a testament to what Instagram should have been: an all-inclusive space where people could fearlessly share snippets from their lives.
Aman’s hesitation was understandable. But all said and done, she is a ray of sunshine on a platform full of equality.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)