When Shabana Azmi learned to cook Dal

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 2 Years ago
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi

 

Her first film Ankur was released in 1974. Directed by Shyam Benegal, Ankur is one of the best films in the genre of neo-realist parallel cinema. The film was well-received by critics and it launched Shabana as a fine actor in the Hindi film industry. In the coming years, she was to work in art as well as in commercial films. With her acting prowess, she went on to receive the National Film Award three times in a row for her roles in Earth, Kandahar andPaar. As she was recognized as a versatile actor he got the role of Godmother.

Besides her acting skills, Shabana Azmi is one of the few intellectuals of Bollywood whose ideas get everyone's attention. She discusses the situation in the country about Covid epidemic with Atir Khan, Editor-in-chief, Awaz-the Voice. Excerpts from the interview:

You went through a very difficult phase after you met with a major accident and now there is a fear of corona all around. Generally, people do self-introspection during such hard times; how did you cope with this?

One thing I realized strongly is that the things we want to own - instead of one we want ten handbags; thousands of costumes unlimited pair of shoes – are all material things. We are struggling to get these and yet they had no value to me (in a hard time). Now, I think about how I am passing this moment for now and only now; how am I helping others? Do I have this ability to give to others, who need the most? Am I giving in so much quantity that the recipient has trouble with it? We should not be giving a token thing but to the extent that the receiver feels it’s too much. Rather, we people should work for our country. I have realized that this moment will not come again. I must fully respect this moment and be truthful to it. What we do is that we either keep thinking about our wishes or our future; we do not think much about this (present) time. So, live this time (moment) to the fullest; give as much love and kindness as I can to others. When I met with the accident, it was a sheer miracle that I did not die. My skull was injured and a thin membrane underneath the bone was left intact. If that membrane was damaged, I might have been lying on the bed. A lot of change happened inside me because of this (accident).

Living in the moment is a philosophy and of course, it is the best one. You have had such a great career. Do you believe that you have worked to your full potential and also what are your plans for the future?

Good thing is that I have been working since September. During the epidemic, I shot a film in Budapest. I completed my shooting for Shekhar Kapur's English film What's Love Got to Do with It. In fact, everybody asked me as to how I could go to London in this pandemic. Some even said I would return soon. But we pulled it off. I went back to Budapest and I am done with my work for a Spielberg project. After this Mera is another project of which I am left with just one day’s shooting.

Today, I am very thankful that I am in this time. Because at this time a lot of attention is being paid to the content and the subjects (of films) are so diverse. I am getting different kind of roles to do. I probably never thought that I would get so much work in this (pandemic) time. I am very thankful to the writers, to the directors who are doing various kinds of work. I also learned that in this era, I remained out of the country from October to March, and I was engrossed in my work. This is why I did not feel the mental problems that many others are facing. That is why work is the greatest strength of a human being and you should do it with truthfulness.

A few months ago, we had a conversation with Naseer Saheb. He too was caught in the lockdown and used this time to read Shakespeare, learn Urdu and flute. How did you use that time?

When I was in Budapest during my last visit, I did not go out. I intentionally did this. Because wherever I go I have people who work for my comfort. So, I thought about it. I started cooking. It was a completely different experience for me, because I had never done it. What else can I tell (Laughs) you: I miserably flopped. I used to watch YouTube and try to cook, everything I made tasted well but looked like Khichdi. (Laughs loudly)

What did you cook?

I made matar-pulao and that was not bad. Then I made vegetables, chicken… it too didn’t taste bad… And O, God! (touches her forehead with her hand)  one day I made dal (lentil). So I could not understand whether it is Channa dal or Masoor dal, because the names were written in Hungarian. At that time I did not have a pressure cooker, so I soaked the dal for a few hours and started cooking. Now the dal was not getting softer. So I added a lot of spices to it. Still, the dal was not cooked. I showed it to Misslyn Stark, chef of the unit who is also working on the film. He told me it was Channa dal and since I didn’t have a pressure cooker I had to soak it in the water a whole day before cooking. However, in this process, I learned how to cook dal (Laughs)

How are you managing the house, how are you managing Javed Saheb?

It is not at all difficult to manage Javed Saheb as he takes care of himself. Obviously, if I go out of the house for such a long time, it will be very difficult if he can’t do that. Right now we are in our Khandala house which is two hours away from Mumbai. Things are somewhat better here so I have time to do things. For example, I had no time to read;  I am doing it now. I am reading scripts. Javed Sahab is writing his scripts. So it is going well.

The film industry has been badly affected. How are people managing?

It is not difficult for the stars, it is difficult for those working at the daily wages. We have our friends and associates who help us. Last year the situation was very bad, I think this time the government too, and I would definitely like to say that Uddhav Thackeray is trying his best. It’s sheer bad luck that things continue to be bad. Despite this, they are trying a lot. He also took a lot of time to impose a lockdown. He has deposited money directly in the account of the daily wage labourers. So this time it seems that the Maharashtra government has acted more responsibly. They have learned from last year’s experience. But the situation is still very serious.