Shabana Azmi express she wanted someone else to replace Jyotika in Dabba Cartel: ‘It was actually a mistake’
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi opens up about the rising prominence of casting directors in the Hindi film industry and her co-stars in the Netflix show Dabba Cartel.
Actress Shabana Azmi will soon be seen in the Netflix web series Dabba Cartel alongside Shalini Pandey, Sai Tamhamkar, Jyotika, Gajraj Rao, Jisoo Sengupta and Anjali Anand. At the trailer launch of the show, Shabana revealed how she couldn’t say no to Dabba Cartel as it was being funded by her son and daughter-in-law.
She also shared that initially, she wanted Shibani Akhtar to replace Jyotika from the series.
Shabana said, “I have to confess one thing. I tried to remove two girls from this (show). One is Jyotika. She doesn’t know this, but I said this. It is really commendable for these people who said, ‘You can do whatever you want.
We will not replace her.’ And, I am grateful that you (pointing at Jyotika) played this character. It was my mistake. It would have deprived me of the pleasure of working with you.” For Shabana Azmi, working on Dabba Cartel was a ‘ghar ka matter’, as the show is produced by her stepson Farhan Akhtar and produced by her stepdaughter-in-law Shibani Akhtar.
“For me it was ghar ka matter, bahu ne hukm diya, beta produce kar raha hai, meri aukaat ki main naa boloon? It was a fascinating character that came my way at this time and I got excited.” The veteran actor further spoke about working with young actors in Dabba Cartel. She shared, “I was at the right place at the right time.
The fact that I am working with young actors who are completely different from my sensibilities is always exciting. Most young actors come with the apprehension that, ‘What will happen next?’ They soon realise that there is nothing like that and they become so comfortable that I have to remind them, ‘I am your senior, behave well.’”
Shabana Azmi also commented on the growing prominence of casting directors in the Hindi film industry. She said, “For me, the coming of casting directors has brought a huge change…
Look what casting directors have done. They have freed Hindi cinema from stock characters. So, we have got the most attractive faces that are authentic. And the same goes for mainstream actors that when you are surrounded by authentic characters, you also start grooming yourself.”
The actor said, “One of my favourite examples is Rishi Kapoor in Karz. It was a huge hit. But you can see that he is not playing the guitar, he is simply playing the drums. He is not doing anything with the chords. Today, it is impossible.
I don’t think any actor can avoid it and I don’t think any actor will be okay with it. The actor will take up the challenge and learn. This, in itself, is the evolution of actors everywhere and the fact that we are now taking on many more interesting faces and the stories don’t have to be just about a pretty boy and a pretty girl. This has brought about a huge change for people.”
Dabba Cartel will stream on Netflix from February 28.
