Shabana Azmi reveals Smita Patil was cast to play the house help in Arth: ‘She said I want to play the other woman’

Arth is considered one of the landmark films in Indian Cinema. It fetched Shabana Azmi a National Award for Best Actress.

Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil were considered rivals during their early years in the industry. The two contemporaries were known for their intense performances in parallel cinema. In Arth, Mahesh Bhatt cast the two actors together.

Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi in a scene from Arth, which released in 1982.

Shabana played the lead part of a dutiful wife named Pooja who discovers her husband's extra-marital relationship with another woman named Kavita, who was essayed by Smita. In an interview with Filmfare, Shabana revealed that it was Smita who demanded to play the role of the ‘other woman’ in the film. (Also read: Shabana Azmi admits to ‘stamping over’ Honey Irani's rights by marrying Javed Akhtar: ‘All the mud that was flung at me’)

What Shabana said

Talking about the change in casting of the film, Shabana revealed in the interview, “Arth mein (In Arth), Smita [Patil] was supposed to do a special appearance as the bai, the one which Rohini Hattangadi had done. She said I want to play the other woman.”

‘But because Smita had done it…’

Smita played a supporting role in the film, which also starred Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Arth received positive reviews upon release, and went on to fetch a National Award and a Filmfare Award for Shabana Azmi. It is often considered one of her very best roles.

On the work front, Shabana was last seen in Dabba Cartel. The show, directed by Hitesh Bhatia, and also starring Jyotika, Shalini Pandey, is available to stream on Netflix.