Shabana Azmi Stole The Show In Batwara 1947. Why Was She Wasted In Awarapan 2?

With a career spanning over five decades, veteran actress Shabana Azmi has given us an illustrious platter of work to chew on. And she continues to do so.

Still having a solid run at the movies, the actress had two much-anticipated films clash at the box office on August 14 - Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947. The twist comes in more forms than anticipated on the surface, judging by the trailers. While she plays the menacing crime lord Nafisa, aka the Queen of Bangkok, in Awarapan 2, with nefarious activities up her sleeve, in Batwara 1947 she is a hapless elderly woman, soaked in longing and heartbreak as she eternally waits for her son to return, while the Partition wreaks havoc in the backdrop.

What also makes for an interesting case study at this juncture in her career is how Shabana Azmi's unquenchable streak of acting prowess is put to use as she dabbles in two polar-opposite genres and plays meaty characters. The verdict is that her talent seems wasted in Awarapan 2, while she owns the spotlight in Batwara 1947. Interestingly, both are very 'male-led' films on the big screen.

Shabana Azmi In Awarapan 2

It's not the first time Shabana Azmi has dipped her feet into negative roles. The first and, honestly, most memorable film that comes to mind when we think of her villainous phase is the 2002 film Makdee, in which she essayed the role of a terrifying 100-year-old witch residing in a haunted mansion on the outskirts of North India.

Over the years, she has also played morally grey characters, such as Rambhi in the 1999 film Godmother, based on Gujarat's real-life mafia don-turned-politician. More recently, in Dabba Cartel, she was seen as the silent mastermind Sheilaben, who held the leash controlling a crime ring on the loose.

This is the territory in which her Awarapan 2 character, Nafisa, loses herself. Initially portrayed as the main antagonist when the trailer was unveiled, the film reveals a different shade to her character.

That her role as the villainous crime lord Nafisa is critical to the plot is conveyed aptly. As mentioned earlier, her stature is given due oomph as she makes a hero-like entry into the film, with classic one-liners strewn throughout.

She serves as a powerful authoritative figure in the story who dives head-on into a confrontation with Emraan Hashmi's returning character, Shivam Pandit. There's no rage-baiting here, only quiet restraint.

Taking bits from the canvas of the 2007 film Awarapan, the film sees Shivam Pandit embroiled in a dangerous and dysfunctional world of crime, with Nafisa having the final say. There's enough meat for Shabana Azmi to bite into, but something still does not strike a chord.

Despite a killer entry, her limited screen presence does not hit the bullseye. She's present but not quite present; she has her eyes everywhere as she channels a horde of secret dealings and exposes the traitors, simply getting the work done. And yet, she gets sidelined.

This treatment shifts completely in her portrayal of Mai, an elderly Hindu widow in Rajkumar Santoshi's Batwara 1947, which released on the same day.

Shabana Azmi In Batwara 1947

With a film headlined by Sunny Deol, one would not expect Shabana Azmi to channel the kind of main-character energy she does in Batwara 1947.

For her fans, this film is where she gets her due as the performer she is. Based on Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai by noted playwright Asghar Wajahat, Rajkumar Santoshi's Batwara 1947 is indeed a different tale set against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition of British India.

We would be lying if we said that, from the trailer itself, Shabana Azmi was not the one who caught our attention. Frail and scared, she is Mai, an elderly Hindu woman who dismisses every attempt to make her leave her haveli in Lahore when a Muslim family takes refuge in it after Partition.

Initially met with a great deal of resistance, Sunny Deol's character, Sikandar Mirza, eventually becomes a messiah of sorts-doing and saying the right things in staunch opposition to communal disharmony. He does not see religion, only a mother who is unaware that her son, Ratan, whom she believes is still returning, was mercilessly set on fire along with his wife and daughter while they were on their way to fetch Mai as riots broke out.

Shabana Azmi as Mai, with her unshakeable faith in humanity, is admirable. She is constantly under attack, with everyone trying to take her life and force her to leave her ancestral home. But nothing can shake her. In one scene, she is dragged out of her own haveli. Humiliated by goons, Shabana Azmi's astonishing command over her performance in that heart-wrenching role is incredible. An actor is only as good as the emotions their performance makes you feel-as though they are being laid out in front of you, rather than shown on screen.

Shabana Azmi as Mai becomes the core character in Batwara 1947. All the screen time taken from her in Awarapan 2 is fruitfully returned to her in Batwara 1947, and she makes excellent use of it.

Without Mai, Batwara 1947's entire plot falls through, as its message of humanity before religion is carried forward through the easing tension between the Hindu widow and the Muslim family. There's no Batwara 1947 without Shabana Azmi.

While Awarapan 2 has opened to a blockbuster response at the box office, Batwara 1947 has received a lukewarm response. On the contrary, it is in the latter film that her fans see her rise to the occasion and deliver a commendable performance.

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