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Shabana Azmi says she became ‘surrogate’ Smita Patil to latter’s parents after her death: ‘I regret saying uncharitable things about her’

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Shabana Azmi says she became ‘surrogate’ Smita Patil to latter’s parents after her death: ‘I regret saying uncharitable things about her’


Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi — two of Shyam Benegal’s most iconic muses were often seen as torchbearers of parallel cinema. But behind the shared screen legacy lies a famously fraught relationship. Though both actors came from similar backgrounds and were hailed for their naturalistic performances, they were usually also pitted against each other.

Now, in a recent interview, Shabana has spoken candidly about that rivalry. She recalled how her husband, screenwriter, Javed Akhtar, often urged her to find common ground with Smita, saying, “You guys should be friends.” Even actor Raj Babbar, who was married to Smita, made efforts to bridge the divide. “They wanted us to bury the hatchet,” Shabana admitted. “But that never happened. It’s not like the press created it all. There was definitely an inherent rivalry.”

Shabana also addressed long-standing claims that Smita had lost roles to her. Dismissing the idea, she told Filmfare, “There were lots of imaginary roles that she thought I had snatched from her, but it was nothing like that.” She added that while both were favourites of Shyam Benegal, the filmmaker was always clear about who he wanted for each part. She went on to reveal that she was initially supposed to star in Manthan, the role that eventually went to Smita. “Shyam was very angry with me for not doing Manthan. He never forgave me for it,” she said. “He wanted me for 32 days, but I was doing a lot of mainstream films then. I told him it was a 10-day role, and I could give him 16 days. He was so offended that he asked me to leave the film.”

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Their onscreen rivalry became most evident in Arth, Mahesh Bhatt’s landmark film that cast both actors together, escalating their off-screen tensions. “Smita was supposed to do a special appearance as the bai, the one which Rohini Hattangadi had done,” Shabana revealed. “But Smita said, ‘I want to play the other woman.’” That decision altered the film’s balance, according to playwright Vijay Tendulkar. “He said that’s what is wrong with Arth. It is actually Pooja’s story. There should have been just enough of the other woman to take the story forward. But because Smita had done it, so much more footage had to be given to her,” Shabana added.

Friction between the two also played out during the shoot. In one particular scene, Shabana was asked to deliver a line with crass language. Something Smita advised her against. But she went ahead after Mahesh Bhatt’s then-wife, Lorraine (Kiran), encouraged it, resulting in “moments of tensions” between them.

However, Shabana expressed deep regret over how things ended. “What was broken was never repaired. But her parents were nice to me, and my parents were nice to her. In a strange way, after she passed away, I sort of became a surrogate Smita to her parents. Which baffled me, but it completed the circle. So I regret that I said uncharitable things about Smita. I really regret it. I wish I hadn’t done it.”





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