Shabana Azmi admits that the camera romances Chitragada’s face the same way it did Smita Patil’s

We are sure that Chitrangada Singh has heard it numerous times before. But never before it came from Shabana Azmi.

Shabana Azmi says that Chitrangada reminds her of Smita Patil.

“When I look at Chitrangada and I see her face, she reminds me of Smita Patil. I’m not comparing their acting talents as Chitrangada is a very young actor and she still has to prove herself in the industry. She has to do a lot more films and get appreciated for them to match Smita. Smita was a phenomenon. When I say she reminds me of Smita, I mean to say that the camera just loves her face as it did Smita’s. Both of them look so beautiful on camera. Chitrangada is a very fine actor and I hope she does some brilliant films,” Shabana says. Shabana and Chitrangada have teamed up for a Bollywood film Sorry Bhai, which has been director by Onir. They play saas-bahu in the movie. The film also has Boman Irani, Sanjay Suri and Sharman Joshi.

We quizzed Shabana on how realistic does she feel the plot was and whether mother-in-laws in urban India were really so open-minded?

“Urban Indian people have always had complex relationships. It’s just that it never came out in the open and was discussed so openly. So, me telling my younger son to go ahead and stay in the relationship with his brother’s fiancé, who now loves him and doesn’t want to get married to my elder son, is quite believable. Things happen sometimes and things need to be sorted out. That’s what the film is all about. It’s quite a bold portrayal but it’s done in a light-hearted manner. I think the audiences are now more mature and more open-minded to watch such films,” she adds.

Shabana has a good word about the spate of multiplex films being made by “talented directors”.

She adds: “Look at the films that are being made today. They are fantastic. You can actually make films on these sensitive subjects which previously people were apprehensive to tread. The film will connect to the audiences because it has a very realistic portrayal of situations and characters which leads to what happens in the film.

We are not encouraging people to develop relationships with their brother’s wives by any means.”