When Shabana Azmi Felt 'Humiliated' On Manmohan Desai's Set

Renowned Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi, who has been a part of the industry since the 1970s, recently opened up about a distressing experience on a film set. In a candid interview, the National Award-winning actor recalled a moment from the shooting of the 1977 film Parvarish when she felt so "miserable" that she contemplated giving up acting altogether. During the incident, she was asked to perform a dance number without any rehearsal and faced humiliation from the choreographer on set.

In the movie Parvarish, directed by Manmohan Desai, Shabana Azmi portrayed the character of Shabboo Singh, alongside Neetu Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, and Vinod Khanna in lead roles.

In a recent podcast with Adi Pocha, Azmi reminisced about a particular scene where she was supposed to perform a dance number with Singh. Knowing that she wasn't very confident in her dancing skills, she had been requesting rehearsals beforehand.

Shabana Azmi Opens Up About Feeling 'Miserable and Humiliated' On The Set 

"I cannot dance to save my life. I have two left feet," Shabana Azmi admitted. She recalled how she had requested rehearsals from the choreographer, Kamal Master, for a dance number in the film. However, he assured her that rehearsals were unnecessary and she just had to clap. To her surprise, on the set, the dance number turned out to be a full-fledged routine with her holding guns in both hands. With Neetu Singh as her co-star, Azmi found it quite daunting as she struggled to keep up. While she was trying to figure out her steps, Singh had already done multiple rehearsals and was confidently performing beside her.

Upon watching the complex dance steps, Azmi felt extremely nervous. She mustered the courage to ask the choreographer if the steps could be changed, but his reaction left her stunned and humiliated. In front of all the junior artists on the set, he sarcastically suggested that Azmi teach him the dance steps instead. Feeling embarrassed and hurt, she ran off the set, wearing uncomfortable attire, and couldn't find her car. Distraught, she decided to walk barefoot to her home in Juhu, crying all the way and vowing never to work in Hindi films again due to such humiliation.

After the distressing incident, the film's director, Manmohan Desai, personally met Shabana Azmi and apologised for the entire episode. Despite his apology, Shabana decided that she would never put herself through such humiliation again. Even today, whenever she has to perform a dance step, the memory of that incident resurfaces, causing tension and discomfort. 

Shabana Azmi's latest film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, is currently playing in theatres, where she shares the screen with Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, and Alia Bhatt.

Suggested Reading: Most ‘Bollywood’ Bollywood Can Be: Rocky Aur Rani Twitter Review In