Veteran actress, Shabana Azmi is one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the 70s and the 80s. Currently, she has been making headlines for her recently-released film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Over the years, Shabana, who has given films such as Amar Akbar Anthony, Arth, Paar and Godmother, became a prominent face in Hindi cinema. However, in a recent interview, the actress revealed that her first experience in front of the camera was a disaster.
During a podcast with Fellowship of Lost Creative Souls, Shabana Azmi opened up about her first experience in front of the camera and shared that she could barely speak her dialogues as the makeup artist had put so much makeup on her face. Recalling the same, the veteran actress mentioned that she was 100 per cent sure that they were going to throw her out because her first screen test was a disaster and added:
“First time I did a screen test, it was a disaster because they had put so much makeup on me that I could not even open my mouth. There was so much makeup. I was so awful that I said that 100 percent they are going to throw me out because this is not going to work at all. But, I realised that it was because there was so much pancake on my face and that’s not how it should be.”
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For the unversed, Shabana Azmi made her debut in Shyam Benegal’s film, Ankur in 1974, and her performance was so heartwarming that she ended up winning a National Award for Best Actress. In the same interview, the actress shared that she is thankful that her character of 'Lakshmi' in the film was presented in a realistic way. However, Shabana admitted that she always faced challenges whenever she was in front of the camera in mainstream cinema and added:
“I was really grateful to Shyam that we had no makeup at all, no base at all, so you look so much like you do in real life. I think that made it easy. When I was doing mainstream cinema, I struggled to face the camera. You won’t believe it but there was a time when my ambition was to look like Sulakshana Pandit and over all these ghastly wigs and makeup on my face, I tried very hard to fit it and the more I tried to fit in, the worse I looked.”
Talking to Adi Pocha in a podcast, Shabana Azmi said that she had to do a dance number with Neetu Singh in the film, but she had been asking for rehearsals as she wasn’t a very good dancer. However, she wasn't provided with any rehearsals and was asked to do a full-fledged dance number. Recalling the same, Shabana said:
“I cannot dance to save my life. I have two left feet. I had asked Kamal Master, he was the choreographer. I said, ‘Please give me rehearsals.’ He said rehearsal is not needed. You just have to clap. I said okay. But when we went on the set, it was a full-fledged dance number with a gun in one hand and a gun in the other. It was so frightening because I was with Neetu Singh. Even before I could figure out whether I should put my right foot or left foot, Neetu would have done two rehearsals and sat over there.”
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Shabana Azmi got very nervous after watching Neetu Singh dancing flawlessly while she was struggling with foot movements. So, she asked the choreographer if he could change a few steps but was shocked when he humiliated her in front of her junior artists. Shabana recalled how she ran off the sets crying and decided she was not going to work in any Hindi film anymore. She added:
“There were a lot of junior artists on the sets. He said, ‘Okay, lights off. Now Shabana Ji is now going to teach Kamal dance master what steps to do’. It was so humiliating and bad that I just ran off the set. I was in these ghastly clothes. I went out to find my car was not there so in those clothes I started walking barefoot to my house in Juhu, crying away and saying ‘I am not going to work in any Hindi film anymore. I just don’t want this humiliation.”
However, later, Parvarish’s director, Manmohan Desai, approached Shabana and apologised to her when he came to know about the entire episode. Speaking up about the same, she said that she still remembers that humiliation when she has to do a dance step which she is much more comfortable with now. She concluded:
“I said this is something I will never do again. That humiliation is something I come in touch with even today when I have to do a dance step which I am much more comfortable with now, but I get that tension. Horrible.”
Earlier, in an interview with Pinkvilla, Shabana Azmi opened up about how friendship remains the core of her relationship with her husband, Javed Akhtar. Talking about the same, she shared that they are each other's best friends and their perspective towards the world is the same. Adding that since they came from the same background, Shabana jokingly mentioned that they should have had an arranged marriage. Shabana emphasised on the importance of respect in a relationship and added that a relationship should be focused on respect only.
What are your views about Shabana Azmi's revelations?
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