From her early days navigating the then-distinct worlds of art-house and mainstream cinema, to her current place as a celebrated actress, who is keen to explore roles across mediums, Shabana Azmi has consistently broken stereotypes and paved the way for generations of actors. In an interview with BT, she reflects on her journey, talks about the positive changes happening in Hindi cinema, and how she wants to have a choice of films to work in. Read on...

Shabana entered the film industry at a time when actresses were often just a glamorous addition to a hero’s narrative. Art-house cinema, while respected, was not considered commercially viable. However, the actress skilfully navigated both spaces, showcasing her versatility with every role she played.

She reflects, “When I started working, the fact that I was doing art-house cinema automatically placed me on a pedestal, putting me on the same level as Hema Malini. Had I started out in mainstream cinema, it would have taken me much longer to reach a certain level. When I began winning National Awards, female actors started feeling ki iss space mein kuchh hai. There is respectability. So, they began exploring.”

The actress believes the blurring lines between art-house and mainstream cinema have been beneficial for the industry. She says, “It has led to greater realism in filmmaking. I always felt, why should there be a division between the two.”

She adds, “The actresses today want agency because they have realised that something more is needed than just a role in which you are glamorous, pretty, and playing second fiddle to the hero. If you look at the actresses at the top, they are all playing substantial characters and that’s really good.”

Bring up how there is a certain homogenization of appearance in the way actors look on screen these days, and she explains, “These standards have been shaped by ideas of glamour we have now. So, the way your hair is done, the way your clothes are worn, all that is very similar,” she says. However, she believes there is a positive shift that is visible with actors embracing more individual and realistic looks. “I think there is a change, which makes me happy, as there is now an attempt at characterization that feels much more realistic. In the past, there were only two people – Zeenat Aman in western roles and Jaya Bachchan in Indian roles – who had distinct personalities, and neither wore wigs or make-up in a particular way,” she explains.

There is this belief that actors in our industry, especially female leads, are easily replaceable, hence, one needs to stand out in the way they look and the roles they choose to create their own identity. On that, she recalls how her husband, writer-poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar, has an interesting point of view.

She says, “It’s a strange thing because Javed saab believes it’s an anachronism. If you aspire to be a star, the audience expects certain things from you. They’ll feel cheated if Shah Rukh Khan goes through a film without doing his signature arm spread. Yet, he also has to strive to be different. It’s a dichotomy.”

Talking about her current selectivity in choosing projects across mediums, the actress, who was recently seen in the web series Dabba Cartel, says, “I am an actor, and I love to do everything. People have this impression of me being drawn to art cinema. Aisa kuchh nahi hai, I want to do mainstream cinema. I had a ball when I did Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. It also paid me great dividends. But I’m greedy and I want more. I want to work with all kinds of filmmakers. I want to work with both independent and mainstream directors. I want to have a choice of films to work in.”

Shabana also believes that she made an awkward heroine in mainstream cinema. “I was not talented in the mainstream scene,” she says, elaborating, “I couldn’t dance to save my life. I was very awkward because I had this notion that I was Kaifi Azmi’s daughter, and I was from St. Xavier’s College and if I ran around trees, what would my friends think? I had certain inhibitions that took me a long time to overcome. I am saying all this in retrospect. It’s not that I was mindful of it in the beginning, or that there was any great design.”