Shabana Azmi has reached that stage in her storied career where she can lift a movie merely by standing in front of the camera. In the Ne...
Shabana Azmi has reached that stage in her storied career where she can lift a movie merely by standing in front of the camera.
In the Netflix original film Kaali Khuhi, which explores female infanticide through the device of a horror-tinged thriller, Azmi is the keeper of a dastardly secret. Kaali Khuhi has no shortage of strong performances. Although on the screen for less time than its 10-year-old heroine, played by Riva Arora, Azmi is both remarkable and unforgettable.
Her character Satya has a unibrow – part of a larger design to portray a woman who “lives with guilt”, Azmi told Scroll.in. “I joined my eyebrows – though it’s a small thing, it shows you a kind of woman who has never even looked into the mirror or given it a thought,” she observed.
Azmi also mildly altered her voice, making it sound deeper. “I figured that I needed to show a character who has a deep history of sorrow and hasn’t had many outlets for expression,” she said. “She lives with this guilt. I wanted it to reflect in her personality, a heaviness to exist in her walk.”
Kaali Khuhi will be streamed on Netflix on October 30. Its co-writer and director Terrie Samundra has previously made short films and written...
