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Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 2, 2015)

Shabana Azmi plays Sonam Kapoor’s mother in Ram Madhvani’s true-life drama Neerja. And Shabana, who is very close to Anil Kapoor’s family, plays doting mother to the hilt. Says the actress, “I am indeed shooting with Anil’s daughter for Neerja while Anil recently shot for Zoya’s Dil Dhadakne Do and is now busy promoting the film. How cool is that!”

She recalls her long association with the Kapoors. “Anil and his wife Sunita have been friends with Jadu (Javed Akhtar) and me for 30 years. When Sonam first told her father she wanted to be an actor, Anil sent her to me to dissuade her. I ended up doing the opposite. I totally encouraged her to follow her heart, much to his exasperation.”

Shabana feels the bonding between the Kapoors and Akhtars to be most endearing. “Anil working with Zoya and Sonam working with me… it seems so splendidly cyclic. It is very gratifying when when one’s kids bond with one’s friends. Now I no longer find it corny when I see those Hindi movies of the 1960s. We want the two families to continue to be friends.”