- Shabana Azmi described a scene in Batwara 1947 as deeply humiliating and vulnerable
- The scene involves her character being dragged by the dupatta and having her kurta torn
- Sunny Deol comforted Azmi by covering her with the dupatta during the filming of the scene
During the trailer launch of Batwara 1947, veteran actor Shabana Azmi spoke about one of the most emotionally challenging scenes she has ever filmed, revealing that a sequence in which her character is assaulted left her feeling "deeply humiliated" and "stripped of dignity" even after nearly five decades in cinema.
Referring to a scene that is briefly seen in the film's trailer, Azmi said it was difficult to separate herself from the emotions her character was experiencing. In the sequence, the antagonist drags her by the dupatta and tears her kurta, a moment she said made her feel deeply vulnerable as a human being.
"There is one scene in this film where, personally, as a human being, I felt deeply humiliated and completely stripped of my dignity. You see a small glimpse of it in the trailer, where the villain drags me and tears my kurta. At that moment, I don't think I have ever felt so vulnerable and so exposed as I did," she said.
Azmi then recalled how her co-star Sunny Deol stepped into the scene, saying that in that instant, he ceased to be just a fellow actor and became a source of comfort and protection.
"And believe me, when Sunny came and put that dupatta over me, in that moment it wasn't just my character - he became my son, my protector. I hugged him with every iota of my being and thought, 'Thank God he's here to save me,'" she said.
The veteran actor credited Deol for helping her experience the scene with complete honesty, adding that the authenticity of that emotion would be visible to audiences on screen.
"If, as an actor with 50 years of experience, I could feel that moment so truthfully because of my co-actor, then it's bound to translate onto the screen. So I just want to say, thank you, Sunny, for that," she added.
Set against the backdrop of the Partition, Batwara 1947 stars Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi and Karan Deol in pivotal roles. The film is slated to release in theatres on August 14.
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