Shabana Azmi on Yash Raj and Dharma’s Creative Choices: 'Big Studios Started Making Copies of Their Own Films on a Lower Budget'

Shabana Azmi believes Bollywood’s biggest production houses have lost their willingness to take risks. Speaking about Manish Malhotra’s decision to back unconventional stories, she said, “I told Manish, I’m so proud of you because this is what I wanted the big studios to do. I wanted Yash Raj to do that, Dharma to do that. Excel is, of course, doing it. Make films which dare to tell a different story.”

Azmi didn’t hold back while addressing what she sees as a creative stagnation. “Because you’re such a big company, you can afford to make a small film,” she said. “But what they started doing was making copies of their own films on a lower budget.” Calling Malhotra’s approach “brave” and “refreshing,” she added, “When he came forward with this, I said, this is what I’ve been asking for years. It’s absolutely remarkable that he agreed to do this. I was quite mystified by how he thought of it, and I thought it was very brave.”

Vijay Varma, who stars in Gustaakh Ishq, echoed her thoughts on reviving originality. “That’s the pursuit I’ve been having,” he said. “We can’t just sit and complain. We have to put ourselves out there, try it, and hope it resonates with people.”

For Varma, it’s about collective effort. “It’s like they say in neuroscience — you have to fire those neurons again,” he explained. “Collectively, if we fire those neurons again, hopefully the experiment will work. The idea is to bring those kind of movies back to theatres again.”

Shabana Azmi will next be seen in Bun Tikki, directed by Faraz Arif Ansari, alongside Zeenat Aman and Abhay Deol. Vijay Varma stars in Gustaakh Ishq, Manish Malhotra’s upcoming production under Stage5. Set in Old Delhi, the romantic drama pairs him with Fatima Sana Shaikh and features Naseeruddin Shah.

Watch out for our full interview, dropping soon on The Hollywood Reporter India's YouTube channel