MAMI Masterclass: Shabana Azmi revealed that 21-year-old Farhan Akhtar helped change the ending of Fire: “The new end saved the film” 21 : Bollywood News
Shabana Azmi had an interesting conversation with Vidya Balan at a masterclass held at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 on October 19. Shabana Azmi, who completes 50 years as an actor this year, spoke about her fascinating journey. As expected, she spoke about Fire (1996), in which she and Nandita Das played lesbians.
MAMI Masterclass: Shabana Azmi revealed that 21-year-old Farhan Akhtar helped change the ending of Fire: “The new end saved the film”
Shabana Azmi revealed, “I was working in the slums. I feared that my work in Fire will be used against me and would affect my work in the slums. I also felt that those women would find it difficult to work with me.”
She then said that Javed Akhtar motivated her to work in the film, despite the flak she was going to receive. She surprised the attendees by revealing that Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar were also supportive.
Shabana Azmi said, “Zoya was very young. She must have been 18 (she was 23). I happened to tell her that I have been offered Fire and that I have a problem. She asked, ‘Why?’. I told her the reason and she asked, ‘So?’. She also asked, ‘Do you like the script’? When I said ‘Yeah’, she replied, ‘Then what’s the big deal?’. It made me realize that there’s a generation of people who think completely differently.”
Shabana Azmi continued, “Farhan was even younger than Zoya (he was 21). I discussed the script with him and he liked it. But he also added that he didn’t like the ending. This is when I was supposed to die in the fire in the end. He remarked, ‘This would ruin the whole purpose of the film. It would mean that your character did something wrong. She must survive’. He was a chhota sa bachha at that time.”
Shabana Azmi added, “I told director Deepa Mehta about this feedback. She said, ‘Let me think about it’. I think (the new end) is what saved the film. That’s how my entire family came and supported me and the film!”
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