Shabana Azmi dubs Bollywood casting directors saviours of the industry; says, “It’s freed Hindi cinema from stock characters”

Shabana Azmi is one of the well-known veteran actresses. She was last seen in Rocky Rani Ki Prem Kahaani as Alia Bhatt’s grandmother. During the trailer launch of Dabba Cartel, Shabana Azmi reveals how casting directors have saved Bollywood from caricature casting.

Shabana Azmi on casting directors in Bollywood

Talking about the conversations on Dabba Cartel sets, Shabana said, “Well, the simple answer to your question is No. We didn’t discuss any of those. But for me, the advent of casting directors has brought a huge change. Because look at what the casting directors have done, its freed Hindi cinema from stock characters. Yeh Om Prakash ji karenge, yeh Shivraj ji karenge, etc, etc. they have just freed it. And we have got the most fascinating faces which are authentic. And what that does, I think to mainstream actors is when you are surrounded, you know because acting is all about reacting. When you see you are surrounded by authentic characters you start to pull up your socks.”

She added, “This is one of my favourite examples I say, Rishi Kapoor ki jo Karz thi, itne saal pehele it was such a huge hit. You can see that he is not playing the guitar but he is strumming it. He is not doing anything with the chords. Today, it is impossible, I don’t think any actor could get away with this. And that any actor would think it is okay, the actor would take the challenge and learn. So, I think this in itself is a growth in actors and the fact that we are now taking many more interesting faces. And the stories don’t need to be only about a pretty boy and girl, and I think that’s brought a huge change both for men and women.”

About Dabba Cartel

The web series stars Shabana Azmi, Gajraj Rao, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan, Shalini Pandey, Anjali Anand, Sai Tamhankar, Jisshu Sengupta, Lillete Dubey and Bhupendra Singh Jadawat. The series unfolds in the bustling suburbs of Thane, where ambition meets danger at every turn. The trailer gives a peek into this web of greed, betrayal, and unexpected alliances. Produced by Excel Entertainment, Dabba Cartel was created by Shibani Dandekar, Vishnu Menon, Gaurav Kapur, and Akanksha Seda. Dabba Cartel premieres on February 28, only on Netflix.

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