- Aruna Irani, Saaz (Melody), India, 1997. The problem about the movie inspired by (rather than based upon) Bollywood’s star singers, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosei, was that Shabana Azmi (who’d suggested the idea), decided to be the younger sister. Therefore all her rival stars – Moushumi, Rekha, etc – refused point-blank to be her elder! Director Sai Paranjpye thought about Hema Malini – only to find Azmi wouldn’t work with her! “I wanted to cast someone who could stand up to Shabana, who could look her in the eye and emote with equal poise and dynamism,” said Paranjpye. “ I’d admired Aruna’s talent for a long time and knew she could carry the script convincingly.” Paranjpye published her first book at age eight. “I am a writer first and then a director.” This is the 19th of her 21 features and documentaries.
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