Shabana Azmi ‘really wanted’ Jyotika removed from Dabba Cartel, told producers to cast someone else

Shabana Azmi and Jyotika are sharing the screen space for the first time in Netflix's upcoming show Dabba Cartel.

The trailer of Netflix's new show Dabba Cartel was launched at a grand event in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. The event, held at Mehboob Studios, saw the entire cast in attendance along with the makers. In a Q&A with the media post the trailer launch, Shabana Azmi, one of the leads, dropped a bombshell when she said she tried to have two cast members - including Jyotika - removed from the show. (

Shabana Azmi and Jyotika at the Dabba Cartel trailer launch.

Shabana Azmi on Jyotika

Dabba Cartel stars Shabana, Gajraj Rao, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan, Shalini Pandey, Anjali Anand, Sai Tamhankar, Jisshu Sengupta, Lillete Dubey, and Bhupendra Singh Jadawat. As the media quizzed director Hitesh Bhatia on the logistics of getting all the actors together, Shabana chimed in, "I have a confession to make. There are two actresses in this show that I wanted to remove. One is Jyotika. She doesn't know this but I really wanted her out and wanted to cast someone else. I even told them (Farhan and Shibani) that kisi aur ko cast karte hain (let's cast someone else)."

As Jyotika laughed at Shabana's candid confession, the veteran actor added, "But thankfully, they didn't budge. Shibani said 'do whatever you want to but we are not changing the cast'. And I am grateful that they didn't listen to me, because it would have robbed me of the chance to work with her." When asked about who the other girl was, Shabana simply said, "She is not here."

About Dabba Cartel

Dabba Cartel is the story of ordinary women who use their upstanding dabba service to ferry drugs across Mumbai. Dubbed 'Narcos Thane', the show merges family drama with a narcotics thriller. Directed by Hitesh Bhatia, written by Vishnu Menon and Bhavna Kher, and produced by Excel Entertainment, Dabba Cartel is created by Shibani Akhtar, Vishnu Menon, Gaurav Kapur, and Akanksha Seda. It will premiere on Netflix on February 28.