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Shabana Azmi: “I Can’t Believe I’ve Been At It For Fifty Years,”
Shabana Azmi’s unparalleled triumphs do not impress her. “I don’t feel like THE Shabana Azmi at all. It is very important to preserve a sense of normalcy, not to let all the recognition awards and milestones go to your ahead, which I’ve tried to throughout my life. I would kill myself if I behaved like THE Shabana Azmi. Tell me, Subhash, did your most favourite Lataji ever behave like THE Lata Mangeshkar?I am shocked at how quickly these fifty years have gone by. Mujhe toh pataa hi nahin chala waqt kab nikal gaya,” says the great Shabana Azmi about fifty years acting on stage and on screen.
“It is very therapeutic for me even now, after so many years to perform on stage and on screen. I remember reading somewhere that when Lataji faced the mike to sing any one of her hundreds of beautiful songs, she forgot who she was. I would also like to feel that the time before the camera consumes me completely,” says Shabana as we catch up post her birthday.
This birthday was made memorable by a video that one of her dearest friends Dia Mirza prepared with comments from her co-actors Vidya Balan, Shahana Goswami, Sandhya Mridul, Divya Dutta,Tannishtha Mukherjee…
At one point, Vidya is heard saying feelingly, “It thrills me to know that you even know me know my work.”
Shabana gets emotional at the mention of the video. “All these pals of mine are as crazy as I am. But seriously, I was deeply moved by their comments. Is that really me they are talking about? It is of course wonderful to be admired. But I’d rather be loved. I hope I am.’
I ask her to choose one one her many exceptional performances as her favourite and Shabana quickly says, “Arth.Among all the film I’ve one Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth remains a milestone.I continue to meet women who say that it was a transformative experience for them and gave them tremendous strength. The telephone conversation I had with my screen-soutan Smita Patil was the toughest scene of my career.”
