1991: Eva Mumbaima: is inspired from the West Side Story which in turn is borrowed from Romeo and Juliet.  Once again, the opening night is a disaster. The audience is unprepared for the high-level energy exuded on the stage, unprepared for so many characters and sets.  I’m thinking of closing down my company when a friend suggests I give it one last shot before I down the shutters. A miracle happens, the auditorium is packed with youngsters and the chemistry is perfect. The show is a success finally and we are traveling all over India.

1992: Tumhari Amrita: A friend gives me the script of the English play Love Letters. I give a copy of it to writer Javed Siddiqui and another to Shabana Azmi. The Hindi adaptation is ready in a month but the last letter evades us. Two nights before the show, actors Farooque Sheikh and Shabana Azmi want to know where is the final letter. “It will come,” I reassure them. It does and the finale is outstanding!  The pauses between every letter reflects the passage of time. It’s my most difficult and emotional play.

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Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai is the Mecca of performing arts. The theatre opened up after two long years and Prithvi Café I once again buzzing with regular faces. I spend a quiet evening amidst the lush trees, sipping Irish coffee and listening to director Feroze Abbas Khan reminisce his theatre journey from Royal Hunt to Mughal-E-Azam.

1990: The Royal Hunt of The Sun: My first play. I’m visiting East Africa and somebody presents me a script. It’s my habit to start reading anything presented to me immediately but this time, I don’t understand the content and yet something about it fascinates me, it is about mixing religion with politics. I discuss it with my friend Shafi Inamdar and he warns me it is not a right subject for a debutant. I don’t listen and the opening night is a disaster. I swear that I will never do another play again but I do.

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And you did Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Yash Chopra’s last film.

Early in my career I was told that I am not Yash Chopra brand of heroine, so I was surprised when I was offered JTHJ. It was instant connection with Yashji; we shared a very talkative relationship. He spoke to me in English, Hindi and sometimes Punjabi and everyone asked me how I understood what he said because he mumbled a lot but I understood everything. I just loved Yashji and miss him sorely.

My two favorite films of yours are Ek Tha Tiger and Fitoor.

All credit for Ek Tha Tiger goes to director Kabir Khan who combined action drama into a refreshing love story. I did some tough action in this film. Fitoor is not mentioned often because we only remember successes but every frame of the film is beautiful.

Do you think of marriage?

Yes, I will settle down when I find my soul mate, right man at the right time will knock my door and my heart will recognize him.

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Zoya Akhtar describes you as a director’s actor.

Every actor aspires to interpret their character as per the director’s vision, but it is not always possible to hit on the right note.  Zoya trusts her actors – she let me be and was always there to hold my hand when I needed her. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobbara was easy because I identified with the film though I had to work hard for the underwater scenes.

Kabir Khan’s NewYork established you as an actor.

Yes, it was the first-time critics praised me as a performer. I played a married woman in a complex situation. This was the first time I met Yash Chopra, one of the nicest persons in filmdom.

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Your filmmakers call you professional and your co-stars say you are extremely hard working, are you?

I think I am and I’m happy they notice and appreciate my sincerity. My producers say I’m lucky because my average of box-office hits is high. There are no short cuts to success and the only way to do it is to give your best.

Critics say you do the same type of roles?

I have never fathomed why they say that, is it because I only do mainstream cinema but there is a difference between Partner and Rajneeti and Ajab Prem Ki Gatha and Phantom I have worked in different genres and with directors of different sensibility. David Dhawan’s Partner was more like a picnic because Salman, Govinda, and David were cracking up all the time and I was the odd one there. I was the odd one in Rajneeti as well and I was surprised that Prakash Jha wanted me in the film.

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Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi starring four big stars Akshay Kumar, Ajay Degan, Ranveer Singh and Katrina Kaif scheduled for Diwali release is the most awaited release in a long, long time. The songs have already gone viral and exhibitors are super excited about the audiences returning to the theatres. There is one more reason for excitement, grapevine has it that post the release Katrina Kaif will be getting married to Vicky Kaushal. I am not surprised, in my opinion Katrina has been ready to settle down for a while now. She has been a top runner for a long time now and in my last interactions with her, I found Kaif strong and silent, ready for a new phase in her life. Excerpts:

Promotions of a new film are exhausting; do you look at a new release with relief or anxiety?

All actors go through the exercise and every time the process gets more aggressive. It is because the mediums of communications have multiplied. Technology has its share of disadvantages and I’m not complaining. What’s got to be done has got to be done!

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Distance sometime changes perspective, when you look back would you say Morning Raga was a film about guilt? Dattani reflects for a moment and replies, “I would say it was about trauma, something untoward happened in Swaralatha’s life and after that nothing was the same. She was unable to connect with her loved ones, herself and her music. Shabana absorbed Swaralatha to an extent that she owned her and her music. It is remarkable how she did that. She suffered during the process and all of us sensed her anxiety and her nervousness to get her music right…”

What is the best thing about Shabana as an actor I ask. “Azmi lent an intensity to her character that was admirable and more important, she mastered the swarams like a professional singer. She is a consummate actor with the discipline of both, theatre and cinema and uses it to her advantage.  When she was shooting the singing scenes, she was anxious all day but, in the end, it was all more than worth it ”.  Today, majority of the content on the OTT platform is in English, but a decade ago to make a film  about a village in English was unheard of. Do you feel the film came a little before time? Dattani shakes his head, “It happened at the right time, it was unique because it was in English. Hindi is not my language and Telugu was never in consideration. I chose Andhra Pradesh because my characters belong to that village. Films are made out of conviction and Shankarabharnam proved many years ago that music connects souls. Morning Raga will connect with the audience in every decade and every platform”.

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“We were recording the background music of Mango Souffle and felt we needed Carnatic alaaps as interlude” continued Dattani. “We invited a traditional singer for a recording to our studio and it was while watching her interact with our jazz musician that an idea crossed my mind. I wondered how it would be to have an old-world singer jam with a modern artiste. That at is how Morning Raga was conceived. I first sounded the idea to my friend and musician Prakash Kovelamudi, my hero in the film. Prakash was excited and took me to meet his dad, Raghavendra Rao, big time filmmaker in Telugu cinema. When Raghvendra Rao sir also approved of the idea, I knew I was on the right track so I confirmed Rajiv Menonmy absolute favourite as my DOP and went to Andhra Pradesh for a recce”.

A  young mumbai director attracted to Carnatic music and  wanting to shoot in Andhra Pradesh,  don’t you think it sounds a bit odd I ask Dattani? “Well, I’m originally from Gujarat, but my heart belongs to South. I am a Bangalore boy in my mind and this reflects in  everything I create. I have studied Bharata Natyam for six years and have been connected with Carnatic music through my dance gurus.  Morning Raga is my first film and it refects my interest. I  was super excited about the subject but very clear that I will only make the film if Shabana Azmi agrees to play the protagonist and when she agreed, I was relieved.” What made you choose her considering she is not a trained singer? “Swaralatha is more than her voice, there is a lot is happening to the character. Yes, she is not a trained singer but Azmi is our greatest living actor and I was confident she could live up to any challenges” concludes Dattani.

to be continued