Shabana Azmi ‘astonished’ by entourage cost, recalls traveling by bus with Smita Patil: ‘Sanjeev Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha paid for…’

Azmi recounted the shooting days of the 1983 film Mandi, where she and fellow actor Smita Patil chose to ride in a bus with the rest of the cast instead of using their separate cars. “I remember (late actor) Smita Patil and I had been given separate cars for the shooting of Mandi. In two days, we gave them up and travelled in the bus with all the actors because they were having so much fun while singing and playing silly games!” she recounts. Not just actors, filmmakers too compromised for the interest of the film. Azmi also recalled buying an air ticket for her director when she found out he was traveling by train.

Amid reports of actors charging hefty fees, Azmi remembered times when actors like Sanjeev Kumar and Shatrughan Sinha paid for film schedules out of their own pockets to prevent cancellations due to funding issues. “A couple of times, (late actor) Sanjeev Kumar and Shatrughan Sinha paid for the schedule, which was going to be cancelled because of funds shortage,” she said.

Comparing Hindi cinema to Hollywood, Azmi noted that Hollywood producers have a stronger hold over who is required in the crew.