Shabana Azmi said she is great admirer of Dilip Kumar.

Shabana Azmi said she is great admirer of Dilip Kumar.

Versatile actress Shabana Azmi celebrated her 60th birthday on 18th September, 2010. She gave an interview in Times of India on her birthday.

She commented on many things. She said that in theatre acting there is scope of underacting, as the viewers at the backseat may not recognize lack of expression, but in films that is not possible. For her film acting was a greater challenge.

She also said that acted in both commercial and parallel films. She acted during the transition of the 70s, when the actresses got roles opposite the angry young man played by Big B, Vinod Khanna and others. Female actresses started getting roles which were transformations from the ones of the 60s in films like Mai Choop Rahungi to films in the 80s like Khoon Bhari Maang. But her range was exposed in parallel cinema. She could express the complexity of female mind successfully in the art films directed by Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray and others.

When asked about her choice, she said that she would have accepted the role of a sweeper if director Bergman had offered her a role. He was her favourite director. In respect of actors, she commented that Tragedy King Dilip Kumar was her favourite actor. She grew up seeing his acting.

It is very significant that the actress of the callibre of Shabana Azmi who had won 5 national awards also used the name of Tragedy King, who had not learned acting from acting school, but the characters immortal with his sensitive performances over 70 years. The interview was very knowledgeable.