Jugal Hansraj reveals Shabana Azmi kept her distance from him during their 1983 film Masoom: ‘Baad mein pata laga ki…’

Jugal Hansraj added that Shabana Azmi would, however, be friendly with the two other child actors--Urmila Matondkar and Aradhana.

Actors Jugal Hansraj and Shabana Azmi starred together in the 1983 film Masoom, in which she essayed the role of his stepmother. Now speaking with Pinkvilla, Jugal revealed that during the shooting of the film, she would maintain distance from him and also shared the reason behind it.

Jugal Hansraj and Shabana Azmi in a still from Masoom.

Jugal Hansraj on Shabana Azmi keeping her distance from him during Masoom

Jugal added that Shabana would, however, be friendly with the two other child actors--Urmila Matondkar and Aradhana. He said, “Vo dono bachiyon k saath boht friendly thi, kyunki vo maa thi aur vo unke bachey they film mein. Lekin mujhse thoda duri rakhti thi Shabana ji (She was very friendly with the other two girls because she was playing their mom in the movie, but she used to keep a distance from me)."

He later understood that she had done it to portray her role more effectively. “Baad mein pata laga that it was part of her process that she didn’t want us to become close because vo coldness jo hai vo screen pe dikhni chahiye. Sabko pata chala ke ek discomfort hai mujhme aur maa mein bhi. Toh vo bohot khoorsurati se unhoney kiya tha (I later got to know that it was part of her process, and she didn't want us to become close because the audience should feel the coldness between us on the screen. Everyone was able to see the discomfort between the two characters. That she did beautifully)."

About Masoom

In Masoom, a drama film, Shabana played Indu Malhotra and a young Jugal was seen as Rahul Malhotra. The film marked the directorial debut of Shekhar Kapur. It is an adaptation of the 1980 Erich Segal novel Man, Woman and Child. The film also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Saeed Jaffrey, Tanuja and Supriya Pathak among others. It features Urmila, Aradhana and Jugal in their debuts as child actors.

Shabana and Jugal's recent projects

Fans saw Shabana last in Dabba Cartel, a crime drama series directed by Hitesh Bhatia. It also starred Jyothika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan, and Anjali Anand. Jugal was last seen in the third season of The Family Man, a spy thriller series created by Raj & DK. It featured Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Dalip Tahil, and Shreya Dhanwanthary, among others.