Mumbai, 26 April

Veteran actor Zeenat Aman has said she is recuperating well in the "recovery room" of a hospital here after being admitted for a pending medical procedure.

The 73-year-old actor posted a series of pictures from the hospital bed on her Instagram handle last evening. In one of them, the veteran star is seen covering one of her eyes.

“Hello from the recovery room! I won’t blame you for thinking I’ve abandoned my social media aspirations. My profile has, after all, been quite silent and half-hearted of late. As the great Indian saying goes - What to do?” Aman wrote without divulging details about the reason behind her hospitalisation.

The actor said she had been caught up with the medical procedure which is the reason why she was missing from social media. However, she didn't reveal any details about the medical procedure.

“But now that I am emerging on the other side of this experience, I’m feeling inspired to continue storytelling on Instagram. You see, there’s nothing like the sombre, clinical cold of a hospital to remind one of what it means to be alive and have a voice!

"So, expect more cinematic crumbs, more personal history, more fashion, more dogs and cats, and yes… most definitely more opinion,” Aman said.

Known for her work in films like ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, ‘Don’, ‘Dum Maro Dum’, and ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’, the veteran actor enjoys a huge popularity on Instagram, courtesy her candid posts where she often shares anecdotes from her decades-long career in Hindi cinema.

Aman celebrated completing two years on the social media platform, where she has also crossed eight lakh followers.

"I started the journey with trepidation that transitioned to empowerment that tipped into disillusionment that has now moved on to fresh curiosity," she said.

“I love what this platform allows me, but there’s something about the machinations of monetised social media that’s unsettling," she added.

At the same time, she reminded her followers that Instagram is "NOT reality".

"Gone are the days of simple TV and print advertisements where it was clear - a celeb sells a product. Endorsements can now be insidious and unannounced, followers bought, images unrecognisably photoshopped and likes manufactured! It’s a point of pride for me that we have grown this community without indulging in these borderline unethical gimmicks.”

Several fans and industry colleagues like Sanjay Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, and others wished the actor a speedy recovery.

Aman’s actor friend Nafisa Ali said, “Big hug, my beautiful friend. Hope the healing is fast. Blessings and love.”

Aman is currently awaiting the release of her Netflix series ‘The Royals’ on 9 May.