Zeenat Aman’s tumultuous life: From facing physical abuse to a cheating husband; here's how she dealt with it

Zeenat Aman is an icon and continues to inspire many through the way she conducts herself. As she speaks about her life, experiences and honest opinions on social media, she's managed to strongly connect even to the youth. But the actress has shown a lot of resilience in her personal life as she went through some traumatic times, thus inspiring people with her strength. Back in the ’70s, when society was bound by rigid norms, Zeenat Aman was busy breaking them. On screen, she played bold, fierce characters who challenged patriarchy and male dominance. But her personal life and relationship with men, always seemed troubled. Sanjay Khan allegedly abused herIn 1978, the fell in love with actor Sanjay Khan and married him. However, their relationship quickly turned abusive. Sanjay, who was already married with four children, allegedly assaulted her several times. Reports claimed he once hit her at a Mumbai hotel, leaving her right eye permanently damaged.Years later, during an interview with Simi Garewal, Zeenat recalled that traumatic phase of her life. She said, “For many years, in my mind, it’s been obliterated because I think that’s what the human mind does. When there is something distinctly unpleasant, you just close your mind to it and pretend that it never happened and you promise yourself that it will never happen again. And that’s how you cope.”Sanjay Khan, on the other hand, denied all allegations and claimed her eye issue was hereditary. Their marriage was annulled within a year.Traumatic marriage with Mazhar KhanIn 1985, Zeenat married actor Mazhar Khan, but this relationship too was filled with difficulties. Talking about the early days of her marriage, she shared, “It was a difficult time since the first year because I was pregnant with my first child and Mazhar was not there. There was a big article in Stardust magazine at that time about the woman that Mazhar was seeing. It’s reality.”She continued, “As soon as my son was born, I wanted out and we discussed it, but I thought my child deserved a chance and I stayed. But I didn’t just stay, I did everything possible to make it work.”When Mazhar fell ill, Zeenat stood by him despite the struggles. “I tried everything under the sun. We were in and out of every hospital in Mumbai. I learned how to give injections, to do dressing, was living with a bag outside his body for 18 months, I learned how to change that bag. I did everything there was to do,” she recalled.After Mazhar passed away, life got tougher for the actress as his family didn't give her anything. She stayed alone with her children and took up odd jobs to survive.