Bollywood veteran Zeenat Aman on Tuesday recalled how she convinced actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor to cast her as Rupa in his 1978 hit musical romance Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Calling her Instagram note a “defining anecdote from her career”, the 72-year-old actress took a trip down memory lane and recounted the time she was filming for the Raj Kapoor-led drama Vakil Babu, which also starred his brother Shashi Kapoor.

In between takes, Raj would regale Shashi and Zeenat with his enthusiasm for his upcoming film Satyam Shivam Sundaram. “Now Rajji had a radical approach to his art, and he was brimming with enthusiasm for a film he wanted to make. For days he regaled us with his idea for a story about a man who falls in love with a woman's voice but can't quite reconcile himself to her appearance,” she wrote.

Zeenat Aman added that Raj Kapoor “never once hinted” that she could be a part of the film. “He spoke with unfettered and rousing passion, but never once even hinted that I could be a part of this film. I was already a star in my own right, and his lack of interest in casting me began to chafe. I knew that my ‘modern image', complete with mini skirts and boots, was the culprit. So I determined to take matters into my own hands,” she said.

Before presenting herself in front of Raj Kapoor, Zeenat shed her “modern image”, put on Indian traditional wear and spent an “extra 30 minutes” in her dressing room to work on her interpretation of the character.

“I knew that Rajji spent much of his spare time at ‘The Cottage’ set on the grounds of his sprawling R.K. Studio. It was here that he would hold meetings or host small events, often presiding over these gathering from a pristine mattress placed on the floor. So I made my move. One evening, having wrapped up early from the shoot, I spent an extra 30 minutes in my dressing room making myself up in my own interpretation of Rupa. I put on a ghagra choli, braided my hair with a parandi, and then stuck tissue paper onto my face with glue in an effort to scar my visage,” she wrote in her note.

“When I reached The Cottage I was greeted at the door by John, Rajji's right-hand man. He looked quizzically at me but followed my request - ‘Saabji ko kaho ki Rupa ayi hai’,” the actress added.

Recalling Raj Kapoor’s reaction, Zeenat continued in another post, “Oh! How amused was the great director to see me dressed as a maimed village belle!”

“When his laughter died down, Rajji excused himself to make a telephone call. Twenty minutes later, his most gracious wife Krishna ji was at the door with a handful of gold guineas in her purse. Rajji handed these to me with great aplomb as my signing amount… and so it was that I came to be Rupa,” Zeenat added, ruminating on how the late actor-filmmaker was ‘moved’ after seeing her going to such lengths to prove herself.

“I held onto those guineas for decades, until they were stolen from my home a few years ago. Still, given a choice between this memory and that gold, I will always choose the memory,” the actress, who will be next seen in Bun Tikki alongside Shabana Azmi and Abhay Deol, signed off.