Will Shabana Azmi give a nod to Rohit Roy's directorial?

(From left) Akhtar, Roy and Azmi

Over a decade after he collaborated with Shabana Azmi to direct one instalment of the 10-part series, Dus Kahaniya, Rohit Roy hopes to work with the actor yet again.

Currently scripting two films, which he intends to helm, Rohit Roy hopes Azmi will give her nod to one of them - a love story based in Kashmir. Roy fiercely guards the title, but promises to showcase the actor in a never-seen-before avatar. He tells mid-day, "I haven't connected with Shabana ji to discuss the film in person, but have sounded her off on Twitter. I hope to cast her as the grandmother. She plays the most prominent role in it; a matriarchal figure who comes from a political family, but has nothing to do with the field. I wrote the role keeping her in mind."

In his head, Roy has the nitty-gritties - right from her character's quirks to the get-up - sketched out. "It will see Shabana ji in a new light. She will wear pants and leather boots, and sport white hair. She will be different - a cool, modern, happy-go-lucky and cheerful grandmother; anything but typical."

His film, he reveals, revolves around the romance between a Pakistani boy and Kashmiri girl. Getting the veteran's nod for it should be no mean feat, given that Azmi has been urging Roy to work on another film that can bring them together, after Rice Plate. Expressing his gratitude towards her for her unwavering trust, he says, "Shabana ji is my biggest teacher. She and Javed saab [Akhtar, Azmi's lyricist-husband] pushed me to finish this script. Her trust is a source of encouragement."

Meanwhile, Roy is also foraying into the big league with his other venture, which will be backed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. News of the project hit headlines last year, when it was learnt that the movie would be part of a three-film deal between them. "Working with someone like him is a matter of pride. I am not acting in either of my films. I might do an Alfred Hitchcock-like appearance, but nothing else. Never was I confident about my acting chops, but I am certain I will make good films."

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