Zeenat Aman's First Photo: Mother's Saree & Hamilton Studio Memory

The first picture is a throwback picture of the actress from her younger days. The picture has a sepia tone, and features her in short hair.

She also penned a long note in the caption, as she wrote, "I can't quite remember the year, but I can remember the excitement I felt that morning. My mother was taking me to the prestigious Hamilton Studio in Ballard Estate to have my first professional photographs taken. I had an inkling that there could be a future for me in modelling, and if not, at the very least it would be a way to make some pocket money while pursuing further studies. I had just graduated from St. Joseph's Convent with excellent grades, and was back home with my mum in south Bombay".

She further mentioned that she had well-known producers as neighbours, film stars living down the street, and many of her older friends were entering the entertainment industry.

She went on, "Parties and conversations revolved around the movies, and this milieu encouraged me to take the leap. Any south Bombay girl of my vintage will know what a thrill it was to be photographed at Hamilton. Established in 1928, it's one of India's oldest photography studios, where some of the most notable figures in history have had their portraits taken. My mother was never one to do things by half measure, especially when it came to her precious only child".

"And so that remarkable woman did my hair, draped me in a sari, and stood behind the camera while I posed shyly for the first time. It would be several years after this picture was taken that Dev Anand would "discover me". That's about the first picture. Now, the second picture - IT'S A FAKE! I don't know how these things take root, but for several years this photograph has been circulated as a picture of a young Zeenat Aman. I do see a resemblance, but that's just not me", she added.

- IANS