Zeenat Aman opens up about being undervalued by brands, collaborators

Mumbai, July 23 (IANS) Veteran actress Zeenat Aman on Tuesday opened up about feeling “undervalued”, sharing that she has held her own in the industry for over half a century and believes she is worth far more than the price of a designer handbag or high-heeled shoe.

The beauty pageant winner, who began her acting career in 1970 with the movie ‘The Evil Within’, took to Instagram and shared some mesmerising snaps from her recent photoshoot.

In the photos, the actress is wearing a red outfit and accessorising with black sunglasses.

In the caption, Zeenat penned a long note, stating, “Thank you, but no thank you. I can’t tell you my precise worth, but I do know when I’m being undervalued. Amid the barrage of collaboration and appearance requests that materialise in my inbox each day, there are some that stand out for unpleasant reasons. Last-minute invitations that the organiser forgot to edit (and which are addressed to another celebrity who must have declined) are mildly insulting.”

The actress continued: “Impolite emails with minimal details and brusque “share commercials” are infuriating. And shady proposals to post stories or comments without the paid partnership tag are distasteful. Yet none of these compare to the impudence of multimillion dollar brands that expect my endorsement in exchange for ‘brand association’ and a ludicrously low fee. Such luxury brands pay an eye watering penny to their ambassadors (one of whom beautifully reprised a role I originally played), and sell even their most basic item for multiple lakhs of rupees..”

The Hare Rama Hare Krishna actress added, “In their outreach to me, they do not fail to express their admiration, with generous terms such as ‘icon’ and ‘fashion inspiration’. But when it comes to actually compensating me for my time, energy, reputation, and reach… the well runs dry. I am over 70 years old, and I have held my own in this industry for over half a century. I work with what I know to be an unusual professionalism. I have a social media audience that is not only entirely organic, but so beautifully engaged. I have immense respect for myself, and for you who follow my page.”

“I am certainly worth more than the price of a designer handbag or high-heel shoe. Your turn. Tell me your story of being undervalued or standing your ground against it,” concluded Zeenat.

Actress Manisha Koirala dropped clapping emojis in the comment section, while Sushant Divgikr commented, “an icon.”

Actor Abhay Deol wrote in the comment section: “Perfectly summed up these ‘Luxury’ brands!”

Actress Sumona Chakravarti wrote: “Thank you so much for writing about this.”

Bhagyashree shared: “You are indeed an icon and will remain for years beyond.. let not these imbiciles ruffle your plume… you are an inspiration @thezeenataman.”

–IANS

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