“Earlier we only had films or theatre, but now we have so many mediums for an actor. It is in fact a very good time. Actors of all age groups are getting meaningful roles and a good audience. Earlier there were very few roles for female actors above the age of 30 years, but now the scenario has changed,” Azmi, 59, said.
“There is a lot of independent cinema, giving many opportunities to artists of all age groups to play more realistic characters,” said the actor.
A five-time National Award winner with marked performance in Ankur, Nishant, Arth, Masoom, Godmother and Fire, she has also dabbled in international films.
Speaking about her experience in theatre and film, she said, “In cinema and theatre we get a different sense of satisfaction. In theatre, there are no retakes and films do not allow you to fake. Performing in theatre is always difficult as there always remains scope for error. Theatre demands a lot of patience and concentration. Besides entertaining, it is also a good medium of change in society.”
About her dream role, she said, “There is no such role. But, yes, if I get a chance then I would love to play a historical character like Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth.”
Azmi, who also runs an NGO for the welfare of slum-dwellers, feels strongly about social evils like female foeticide.
“Both Punjab and Haryana are progressive states that are seeing development in all fields but the sad part is female foeticide is still in practice here. It is shocking that the desire for a male child is so great that people are killing the girl child. It is cold-blooded murder,” she said.
She said, “We all have to stand together against this and stop seeing girls as a burden.”
“The number of maternal deaths of women every week in India is more than the total number of women dying in the entire Europe in one year. We talk about GDP and economic growth, but all these figures will be wasted if we do not work on our human development index,” said Azmi.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2010.
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