Mumbai, May 14 (IANS): Veteran Bollywood actress Zeenat Aman, who often shares anecdotes from her prime in cinema on social media, shared a word of appreciation for fellow actress Dimple Kapadia.

Zeenat shared that Dimple was by her side at the time when she was going through a lot.

On Tuesday, Zeenat took to her Instagram and shared a throwback picture of herself with Dimple and director Joy Mukherjee. \

The actress penned a lengthy note in the caption as she took a stroll down memory lane.

Zeenat, who looks stunning in her western attire and smoking a cigarette in the picture, wrote: “I can’t recollect where this picture was taken, but it quite certainly had something to do with the film ‘Chhailla Babu’. Perhaps it’s a bts shot from the set. I say this because while the chairs scream ‘production’, I’m in my own clothes not a costume. With me are the director of the film Joy Mukherjee and the effervescent Dimple Kapadia, who must have been visiting the set as she was married to the lead actor (Rajesh Khanna)."

The actress further mentioned how filmmaker-actor Raj Kapoor played a significant role in boosting both her and Dimple’s careers.

She continued, “Dimple and I both got big career breaks thanks to Raj Kapoor. She, as a teenager, when she was cast in and as Bobby. Whereas I was able to deliver a blow to my “western image” thanks to ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’."

Zeenat then shared how Dimple stood by her during “a very difficult phase’ in her life.

“This isn’t a post about Dimple’s talent though she has that in spades, it’s about the little I saw of her character. During a very difficult phase in my life she was one of a mere handful of people who publicly stood by me. This despite the criticism and scrutiny of her own life that the decision invited! In those trying times she revealed to me a strength of character that I admire to date. I don’t believe she is on Instagram, but perhaps @twinklerkhanna will pass on my love to her. Truly, a wave of appreciation washed over me when I found this picture some days ago," she wrote.

The veteran actress also made a point not to influence her younger followers about smoking a cigarette in any capacity as she categorically mentioned, “On another note, please don’t be influenced by my smoking in this image! I’ll admit I enjoyed a few cigarettes a day between my late teens and early 30s, but that all went out of the window the minute I became pregnant with my firstborn."