Kamal Ghorui
Years after Dev Anand’s autobiography Romancing with Life stirred controversy over his account of falling in love with Zeenat Aman, one of his closest friends, Mohan Churiwala, has reopened the conversation. Mohan questioned why Zeenat chose to refute Dev Anand’s claims only years after his death and not when he was alive.Speaking to Vickey Lalwani, Mohan firmly defended Dev Anand and said, “Dev Anand did not lie about anyone. He didn’t say anything wrong about anyone. I think it is right what he wrote about Zeenat in the book. Zeenat even came for the book’s launch in 2007. Dev Anand was alive four years after the book was launch, so why didn’t she confront him when he was alive?”
‘Everything was clear in the book’
Reiterating his belief in Dev Anand’s account, Mohan recalled the incident described in the autobiography. “Dev sahab has written everything clearly in the book. And from his writing, it is clear that when they went to the party and Zeenat Aman tried to touch Raj Kapoor’s feet, she looked back at Dev Anand, feeling awkward about whether what she’s doing is right,” he said.He further added, “Also, the fact that Raj Kapoor told her that she made a promise to him only to wear white clothes. At that point, Dev sahab understood that the rumours are correct.”
Why Dev Anand left the party heartbroken
Mohan explained that Dev Anand had already planned a dinner with Zeenat Aman after the party. “Dev sahab‘s dinner with Zeenat Aman was already fixed at the Taj after the party. Zeenat and Dev Sahab both had decided that they will go, show their faces at the party, and then go to Taj together for dinner,” he shared.However, things changed when Dev Anand sensed the closeness between Zeenat and Raj Kapoor. “When he sensed that Zeenat and Raj Kapoor’s interaction were very deep, he felt uncomfortable. He felt bad because he wasn’t kept in confidence by Zeenat and he shared a good friendship with Raj Kapoor,” Mohan said.He added that Dev Anand felt deeply hurt. “Dev sahab felt that Zeenat at least should have hinted him about Raj Kapoor. He felt that he was thinking seriously about Zeenat, and she kept everything hidden, and now at the party, when Raj Kapoor came in, accidentally everything was revealed.”
‘Raj Kapoor seemed guilty’
Mohan also recalled Dev Anand sensing guilt in Raj Kapoor’s behaviour that evening. “Dev sahab then excused himself and said I have to go somewhere but Zeenat stopped him, saying that they have dinner planned. Even Raj Kapoor held his hand tightly and refused to let him go. Dev sahab felt that Raj Kapoor must be feeling guilty but he left the party anyway,” he said.When asked if Dev Anand believed Zeenat Aman and Raj Kapoor were in a relationship, Mohan replied without hesitation, “100 percent.”He clarified, “Relationship in the sense that she met Raj Kapoor for Satyam Shivam Sundaram without telling Dev Anand about it. Also, the conversation between Zeenat and Raj Kapoor about her wearing white clothes, so all these things were revealed at the party.”
Zeenat Aman had strongly denied Dev Anand’s claims
In 2023, Zeenat Aman addressed the controversy through a strongly worded Instagram post, reacting to Dev Anand’s autobiography. She wrote, “In 2007, ‘Romancing with Life’, Dev Saab’s autobiography hit the stands. In it he professed that he was in love with me, and insinuated that Raj ji and I had more than a director-actor equation which broke his heart. To be honest, I was livid.”She added, “I felt humiliated, hurt and disconcerted that Dev saab, my much older mentor, a person I loved and admired platonically, would not only believe such a story devoid of a shred of truth, but would then go on to publish it for the world to read.” Zeenat also revealed how the book affected her personally. “For weeks my phone rang incessantly as friends inquired about ‘what really happened’ and shared excerpts from the book. I never did read it though, and in my anger I consigned the copy I was sent to storage in the basement!”
