My First Colour-Blind Casting: Shabana Azmi On Video Game Adaptation Series "Halo"

Shabana Azmi will feature in Halo, an upcoming series that is adapted from a video game. Today, the actor posted a still from the series and announced its release date. This series is developed by Kyle Killen and Steven Kane for Paramount's streaming platform.

Azmi, who is known for popular films like Fire, Masoom and Godmother, amongst many others, will be seen in a crucial role in this series produced by Steven Spielberg. Azmi shared a picture of her in a dark green outfit with her hair tied back, the subtitles in the frame read, "This is an opportunity."

Azmi wrote in her caption, "As Admiral Parangosky in HALO- my first colour blind casting! releasing 24th March." On her Twitter feed, she wrote, "....my first colour blind casting since I started working in the West 34 years ago. What a struggle its been for Asian actors. Releasing on 24th March."

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Shabana Azmi In Halo

The series is based on a popular science fiction video game franchise with the same name. The video game franchise is owned by Xbox Game Studios.

The show is set in 26th century, where is a conflict between humans and an alliance of aliens called The Covenant is raging. The lead of this series is a character called Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, who is a genetically engineered super-soldier. The reason for his creation was that he will crush the mutinies amongst the population who are not appreciative of the rule of humans.

The events in the game begin when The Covenant attacks a human-owned planet named Harvest. The official synopsis of the show reads, "Dramatising an epic 26th-century conflict....Halo the series will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future."

Talking about how she got on board the series, Azmi told HuffPost, "My agent in London got in touch with me for this role. Initially, there was a date clash but thankfully things worked out. It's completely new territory for me as it deals with Artificial Intelligence." She also added that when her nephew came to know about this, he went "O-M-G" and now that expression has restored her faith in her "own celebrity."

(Feature Image Credit: Shabana Azmi/ Instagram)