Veteran actor Sanjay Khan was a popular name in the film industry in the initial phase of his filmy career. His romance with Zeenat Aman in 1978 has been quite a long topic of discussion in the past. Though it never propsered into a happy marriage and the couple was separated after nuances of physical and domestic abuse were highlighted, the entire story flipped towards making Sanjay Khan the most evil individual of the Indian cinema.
Sanjay Khan Breaks Silence On Physical Abuse Towards Zeenat Aman
Despite being already married Sanjay Khan who fell in love with Zeenat Aman tied the knots with her, however it was not long when reports of Zeenat being hit by Khan came into the news quite often. Amid the same, a report revealed that during several assaults by Sanjay Khan, Zeenat Aman witnessed a severe eye injury, post which she was always seen covering her left eye. It was although alleged that Sanjay Khan had slapped her so hard, that led to this injury, but in one of the old radio interviews, the veteran actor had come forward to clear out the allegations put up on him. In the interview, Sanjay Khan denied the allegations of raising hands on Zeenat Aman, and said that he had never beaten her ever in his life. It was this controversy that really affect him work-wise as well as tortured him mentally.
Sanjay reflecting on the aftermath of the allegations claimed, “I received alot of work offers post the release of Abdullah but I had to turn them down.I went in self-exile for four long years.” He said he was hurt to see the one-sidedness of the entire story and how it was a complete PR Attack planned to ruin his image and mentally get him distracted.
Reality Behind Zeenat Aman’s Eye Injury
Shedding lights on the reality of eye injury, Sanjay Khan revealed, “The facts were totally and radically opposite. I was accused of being responsible for her losing her eye. This is not right.”
Addressing Zeenat’s injury further, Sanjay Khan said that Zeenat developed a little bit of squint eye after a few years because of genes, and it was nothing to do with physical abuse. “If you see 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”, he claimed.
When Not Even Sanjay Khan’s Closest Friends Believed Him
He further also opened up on how painful it was for him to see that even his closest friends like Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor did not believe or confront him. “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 definitely asked me, especially Raj ji. So it speaks a lot about the person“, Sanjay remarked while expressing his disappointment.
Must Read: From Filming Incomplete Love Stories To Living One: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Untold Saga Of Love
