Shabana Azmi: Have never allowed my years of experience to make me smug

Shabana Azmi recently turned 72. The veteran actress, who began her career in the 1970s, has had her name attached to over a hundred films, spanning across genres. The actress recently opened up about her still thriving career, and what she wanted to change about how her career shaped up.

In conversation with IWMBuzz, the actress spoke of how Bollywood was now witnessing more substantial roles being written for senior actors, as a result of which she still got ‘meaty’ roles to do even now. The actress said that despite her success, she still worked hard for every role and never allowed herself to be overconfident.

Azmi talked about how overconfidence was the worst thing for an actor. She said that although confidence was necessary, one could easily become complacent if one stepped over the line. ‘I continue to be a very hardworking actor and never allow my years of experience as an actor to make me smug”, she said.

The actress said that even though she was satisfied with the parts she was getting at the moment, she always wanted more. She spoke of how the audiences’ tastes were starting to change and producers realised this as well. As a result, they were making more women centric films, keeping in mind the budget as well. But Shabana believed that some more change had to happen, and producers should start to make big budget women centric films as well.

There is nothing that excites the actress more than acting, and Shabana said that she was looking forward to doing more meaningful roles and keep on working till the end. But she does have some things she wanted to change in her career as well. The actress revealed that she often wished that she had worked harder on her singing and dancing skills. She talked about how she used to be embarrassed about the same, and should have spent more time mastering the skill rather than avoiding it.