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This is an archive article published on March 6, 2025
Shibani Dandekar says Shabana Azmi didn’t initially listen to her pitch for Dabba Cartel: ‘Had already made up her mind’
Shibani Dandekar said Shabana Azmi wasn't even listening to her pitch when she offered her a role in Dabba Cartel.
Shabana Azmi (left) plays a key role in Shibani Dandekar's (right) Dabba Caretl. (Photo: Shabana Azmi, Shibani Dandekar/Instagram)
Shabana Azmi, who is one of the acclaimed actors in Indian cinema, recently appeared in her daughter-in-law Shibani Dandekar’s show Dabba Cartel and in a recent interview, Shibani said that Shabana had made up her mind about being a part of it even before she heard the pitch. In fact, Shibani shared that Shabana wasn’t even listening to her pitch when she first spoke to her about playing a significant part in the show.
In a chat with The Hindu, Shibani shared, “I don’t think she even listened to the pitch when I was talking to her. I really don’t think she was listening. It was a zoom call and it was a five minute conversation. I think she knew it was happening because during the lockdown, I had told Javed uncle and Shabana that I was working on this.” Shibani said that when she first shared it with screenwriter Javed, who is her father-in-law, he suggested that they cast Shabana in the show. “Javed uncle suggested that Shabana be a part of the cast. I don’t think he had any inclination that she was already someone that we wanted,” she said and added that Shabana was keen to be a part of it too. “I think before the phone call, she had already made up her mind that she wanted do it.”
Shibani insisted that Shabana isn’t a part of the show just because she is family, but because she had a deep influence on Shibani’s childhood. She shared that when she was younger and was living in Australia, her only connection with Hindi movies was a video tape of Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom and she would watch it over and over again.
“A lot of people are going to think that she was cast in this because she is my mother-in-law and it’s a family thing but it actually wasn’t like that at all. I mean, yes of course, I was dating Farhan at the time, but very few people know that when I was younger, my only connection to Indian cinema was a video cassette of Masoom, which I used to watch and rewind and then start it again. I think I watched that film over 400-500 times so I knew I wanted to work with her. It just so happened that she ended up being family which was, I don’t know which one is a coincidence, that was more the reason she had to be in the show,” she said.
In an earlier chat shared on Netflix India’s YouTube channel, Shabana said that she couldn’t have said no to starring in Dabbar Cartel because it was being produced by her son Farhan and daughter-in-law Shibani. Shabana ismarried to screenwriter Javed Akhtar. Farhan is Javed’s son from his first marriage with Honey Irani.
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