Shabana Azmi, who is doing workshops for the Masoom sequel, on how her role is inspired by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur’s grandmother
Shabana Azmi and Kaveri Kapur
It has taken Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur forty-two years to reunite for a project after their classic Masoom (1983). But now that they have teamed up, things are moving swiftly on Masoom: The Next Generation, the sequel to the 1983 film. Azmi has begun workshops for the drama, which will also star Manoj Bajpayee, and Shekhar’s daughter Kaveri Kapur.
“Shekhar wishes the actors to improvise a lot, and workshops are currently on between Kaveri and me,” shares Azmi, who is looking forward to the creatively stimulating experience of shooting with Shah and Shekhar. “The script is about the search for identity, which Shekhar has been haunted by for as long as I’ve known him. My character has been inspired by his nani. There are scenes between Kaveri and me that are straight out of Shekhar’s memories,” she says. With Masoom: The Next Generation, the filmmaker will explore the idea of what home means to different generations.
The cast of Masoom with (extreme right) director Shekhar Kapur
Azmi, who will play Kaveri’s grandmother in the movie, will sport a distinct look. Adopting a particular look for each character is a step towards embracing the part, believes the veteran actor. “The focus on looking good in a prescribed way works to the character’s detriment. At the end of the day, inhabiting a character’s world is about finding the soul,” she states.
While she is particular about her on-screen looks, she is irked by the practice of actors’ off-screen appearances being scrutinised in the name of fashion. “Why is there so much emphasis on which designer one chooses to wear? The obsession the paps have with singling out how much a bag or a pair of sunglasses costs is loathsome,” she states.
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