Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; August 25, 2018)

Over 30 years after Vijaya Mehta’s Pestonjee, Shabana Azmi plays a Parsi character again in Adeeb Rais’s upcoming short film, Aunty Ji. Says Azmi, “It is a light-hearted film. I am playing a Parsi widow.” The veteran actor says she enjoyed deciding on her character. “I personally shopped for my character’s look.”

Rais, who earlier helmed the Barun Sobti and Shenaz Treasury starrer Main Aur Mr Riight (2014) and the short film Kuch Spice To Make It Meetha, which starred Nauheed Cyrusi and Purab Kohli, adds, “Her Parsi avatar is definitely going to charm the audience. As always, she has slipped into the role wonderfully and added many layers to it. The film is a sweet, sensitive and subtle story about an elderly Parsi lady and an acid-attack survivor. Both women are charming and strong, but conditioned by unnecessary restrictions and pressures from society.”

He adds, “Like most short films, we worked on a shoestring budget, but I am grateful that we could have Shabana ji on board.”