Shabana Azmi: “Moghul History Is Very Vague About The Female Figures.”

Shabana Azmi who turns a year  older on September 18, is currently in Karjat  shooting for  The Moghuls,  a webseries  for Hotstar  produced  by  Nikhil Advani.

The internet  is a fascinating web for Shabana. “This is  the  first web series(for Hotstar) that I am doing. The  reach of  the medium is  tremendous. The Moghuls is an adaptation  of  Alex Rutherfood’s  historical  book.It deals with Moghul  history all the way from Babar to Aurangzeb.”

 What  fascinated Shabana was  the  space and attention given to  the women figures from Moghul  history.

She  feels women have been treated with scant attention by  Moghul historians.  “I mean , everyone  knows Mumtaz Mahalbecause Shah Jehan  built  the Taj Mahal for her.  But what was she really like? I play Babar’s grandmother Esan Daulat.  Not much  is known about her. But she  was  the power behind the throne.When Babar was 12, she made  sure he was crowned emperor.”

 Shabana  enjoys the  freedom offered  by  the  web. “One can  tell a story as elaborately as  one  wants. Though Esan Daulat is  little-known outside the  domain of history books my character is done at length.  I am shooting for  40 days for  The Moghuls.”

So Shabana would be celebrating  her  birthday on the sets  of The Moghuls. Any  Birthday thoughts?

“Yes, to get  rid  of  my dependence  on  the mobile phone. My phone has just crashed. And I feel  no anxiety  about losing my numbers. On  the contrary  it is extremely liberating to not  have to depend constantly on  the phone.So yes, this birthday I’d like to return to basic face-to-face conversations with people whom I care for.”

She reveals her huband Javed Akhtar is far  more dependent  on  the mobile  phone than she. “He says my mobile  phone is the most immobile phone in the world  because I never take  it with me.He watches  a lot of shows  on his phone.”