It’s almost impossible to condense Vijaya Mehta’s illustrious career and her rich personality into a few words. Many of the theatre doyen’s colleagues used the term “trailblazer” to describe her, following her demise on June 30 after battling a prolonged illness. But to Shabana Azmi, Mehta will always be that director who had a unique way of making her actors feel relaxed. 
    
“In spite of her towering talent as an actor, she was a poor narrator of jokes. She inevitably messed up the punch line,” Azmi told mid-day, remembering her Pestonjee (1988) director. “Her son Deven would wring his hands in despair, but she would carry on undaunted, till she confessed, ‘Arre, mee main line visrun geli!’ It was her way of making her intimidated actors relax.” 

(L-R) Shabana Azmi and Kirron Kher in ‘Pestonjee’