It was Dev Anand who suggested the famous hippie look for Zeenat Aman in the song, “Dum Maaro Dum” from Hare Rama Hare Krishna. In fact Dev Anand had his vision as to how Zeenat’s character would appear onscreen.
Zeenat’s character was inspired by a girl whom he saw near a mysterious joint, The Bakery (a hangout place of the hippies) in Kathmandu.
Anand along with his German friend Christian Doermer (a documentary filmmaker) walked down the hill and through narrow and dark alleys reached the spot from where he could watch hippies. Among all the others, his eyes got stuck on a long haired girl with a loosely worn blouse, smoking to her fullest.
Next day, Anand arranged a meeting with her. She was Jasbir, a girl with an Indian-origin with Janice as her acquired name. After listening to her personal story, Anand conceived the idea of Hare Krishna Hare Rama with Jasbir as the central character.
In the song Dum Maaro Dum, Anand wanted the character of Jasbir (Zeenat Aman) to be carefree and look truly authentic for the Bohemian scenes in Kathmandu. The entire look of Jasbir (Zeenat Aman) was suggested by Dev Anand. The styling included central-parted hair styled with a casual carefree flow.
Also oversized sunglasses (also known as granny glasses), Rudraksh beads worn around the neck and large bindis paired distinctively with loose saffron kurtas.
The casual ‘bindaas’ look of Zeenat Aman permanently shifted Bollywood’s fashion towards westernised, rebellious and youth-centric aesthetics.
Image(s) Courtesy: Google