Shabana Azmi roams the streets in Nantes, remembers Shyam Benegal

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): Veteran Bollywood star Shabana Azmi is in France to participate in the 46th Festival des 3 Continents, held annually in Nantes. While strolling down the streets of the city, she reminisced about legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal. She took to Instagram, where she posted a picture of herself posing for the camera and wrote: “Roaming the streets in #Nantes. Perfect weather. Had screenings of #Ankur and #Mandi to packed audiences. #ShyamBenegal wish you were here.”

The festival honours films and filmmakers from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, spotlighting their contributions to the art of storytelling. Shabana is being celebrated with a special retrospective marking her illustrious 50-year journey in Hindi cinema. The retrospective features screenings of her iconic films, including Ankur and Mandi. The retrospective will feature a selection of her most acclaimed films, including Ankur, Mandi, Masoom, and Arth, paying tribute to her exceptional talent.

Azmi's films have long resonated with audiences in France, where she has previously received acclaim at esteemed venues such as the Centre Pompidou and the Cinémathèque, as well as the Nantes Festival des 3 Continents, where her film Godmother was the opening night feature. Talking about work, Shabana was last seen on screen in “Ghoomer” in 2023. The film also stars Saiyami Kher and Abhishek Bachchan. The followed a young batting prodigy Anina, who loses her right hand on the eve of her international cricketing debut. A failed cricketer enters her life and offers her new hope. With innovative training, she becomes a bowler for the Indian cricket team, and they invent a new style of bowling.

She will next be seen in “Lahore 1947”, a period drama film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Aamir Khan. The film set against the backdrop of the partition of India in 1947 stars Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty and Preity Zinta in lead roles.