- By Tapapriya Dutta
- Tue, 23 Jul 2024 04:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Zeenat Aman never shied away from expressing her views or pointing out her opinion. The veteran actress took a dig at luxury brands, who undervalued her for endorsing their products. She shared that these brands pay a huge amount of money to the ambassadors (the ones who reprised her role in one of her franchises). But they approached her with a low fee. Zeenat also alleged that these luxury brands sell their products for multiple lakhs of rupees. However, she did not take any names of brands or brand ambassadors.
Taking to her Instagram account, Zeenat said “Thank you, but no thank you. I can’t tell you my precise worth, but I do know when I’m being undervalued. Amidst 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. 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.”
She continued, “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. 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,” she concluded.
On the work front, Zeenat Aman will be next seen in Bun Tikki. Faraz Arif Ansari’s directorial stars Abhay Deol and Shabana Azmi in lead roles.
