Chef-filmmaker Vikas Khanna on directing Shabana Azmi in Imaginary Rain: You'll be shocked to see the way she cooks in the film

Micheline-star Chef Vikas Khanna is one of the finest names in the food and entertainment industries. He rose to fame with his stint as a judge in MasterChef India, while is also known as a restaurateur, cookbook writer, and filmmaker. Based on his own novel 'Imaginary Rain', the upcoming film of the same name starring Shabana Azmi marks his second directorial after the Neena Gupta starrer The Last Color.

In a recent interview with Curly Tales, Khanna unveiled his experience of working with Azmi for his upcoming venture and mentioned that people will be shocked to see the way she cooks in the film.

Praising the veteran actor, the chef-filmmaker shared, "Shabana Azmi is the most talented actress in our history. She getting an Oscar is not just one Oscar. We will start following that route and understanding that there's a path bearer. Shabana Ji will not just win one, she will be the bearer of thousands of Oscars to follow."

"Getting Shabana Ji onboard was a challenge. I had to be fully prepared when I had to tell her a story like this but the biggest challenge was to teach her how to cook because she is a chef in the movie and she refused to cheat in this craft and she said I will make everything by myself," he added and also unveiled that from using tandoor to making bread from the scratch the talented Indian actor did all the cooking in the film by herself. 

He further mentioned, "The moment she was not the set she thought she was a chef. You'll gonna get shocked when I'll release in the teaser the way she is cooking."

Imaginary Rain marks Khanna's 40th book, which is a tribute to his grandmother. The star chef released his book in January this year and shared a special post on his official Instagram handle and also revealed that his upcoming directorial on the novel is set to release later this year. 

The IG post reads, "With a lot of gratitude & love, I present to you my 40th Book - IMAGINARY RAIN A story I started writing to honor my Biji (Grand Ma) after winning the Michelin Star for the first time in 2011. The feature film with legendary Shabana Azmi releases later this year. (sic)."

Check out the post here:

Khanna is currently judging MasterChef India Season 7 along with Ranveer Brar and Garima Arora.