Zeenat Aman undergoes eye surgery, recovers from 40-year-old injury

In her own characteristic detailed post on Instagram, Zeenat Aman wrote she underwent the surgery earlier this year.

The injury, as Zeenat Aman says, had damaged the muscles around her right eye.

She wrote, "There has been an elephant in the room with me for the past 40 years. It is time to show this elephant the door. I have a condition know as ptosis - the result of an injury I suffered many decades ago that damaged the muscles around my right eye.

"Over the years, it caused my eyelid to droop further and further. And a few years ago it became so acute that it began to obstruct my vision."

Though several treatments she received over the decades went in vain, this time she had learnt a successful "surgery" was possible".

The actress wrote, "The treatments available to me at that time, and for decades after, were unsuccessful. Then this year in April, a leading ophthalmologist informed me that things had advanced, and a surgery to lift the eyelid and restore my field of vision was possible."

"I dithered for a long time, then underwent a battery of tests and finally committed to the procedure. That morning in the hospital I was terrified.

"My extremities turned icy and involuntarily shivers racked my body. Zahaan kissed my forehead, reassured me and wheeled me to the OT, where I surrendered to the hands of my medical team.

"I emerged from there an hour later - alive, well and looking like a pirate with an eye patch," she added.

Zeenat Aman, who says she is slowly recovering after the successful surgery, found support in a "few stalwarts" after her injury narrowed her vision which was not an easy scenario for her to come to terms with "when so much of one’s career is predicated on one’s appearance".

Several reports claim Zeenat Aman suffered the injury when she was beaten up by her first husband Sanjay Khan.

Earlier, Zeenat Aman had revealed she went through physical abuse and violence in her life.

In Hrishikesh Kannan's podcast, Sanjay Khan had denied committing physical violence against Zeenat Aman and said it was a "PR attack" against him.

Khan called Zeenat Aman's eye problem "hereditary" which he claimed she inherited from her mother.

On the work front, Zeenat Aman is set to make a comeback on big screens with 'Bun Tikki', which will be produced by eminent fashion designer Manish Malhotra, co-starring Abhay Deol and Shabana Azmi.