Shammi Aunty: Frail, Hard Of Hearing But Invincible

Shammi Aunty: Frail, Hard Of Hearing But Invincible
Tuesday, August 28, 2012 12:24 IST
By Subhash K Jha, Santa Banta News Network
/> At 83 Shammi Aunty, as she is universally known, loves people and acting. Unfailingly she is the first to call on my birthday every year. Failing health and difficulty in hearing have not taken away this Bollywood survivor's spirit. After a long time we got to see Shammy Aunty as Boman Irani's doting grandmother in Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi.

The attention she's getting after a longish gap is certainly welcome.

Basking in the attention the veteran actress says, `I want to continue acting. It's the only thing I know how to do. But movie offers had stopped coming for a while. I was doing television. But that too dwindled lately. So I was sitting idle.

At my age to be workless is to be worthless. Lekin main aaj tak kabhi kissi se kaam maange nahin gayi (I never went to anyone to ask for work). Why should I do so now? I am happy getting what comes to me. And grateful to God I still get work. It isn't a major role in Shirin Farhad, but it was great fun shooting the film. `

The offer from Bela Bhansali Sehgal was godsent.

Recalls Shammi Aunty, `One day I got a call from Bela. She said she was doing a film about the Parsi community with Parsi actors, and would I play Boman Irani's grandmother. She said, 'Please don't say n. 'Why would I say no to such an offer? I greedily grabbed it. I never knew it would be so much fun. `

Shammi Aunty says she didn' know Boman would be so entertaining. `He is relatively new in movies, so I had never worked with him. He was so wonderful. He kept saying he was happy to work with me.

Most of my scenes in the film were with Boman. We had great fun shooting together. I didn't have too many scenes with Farah Khan. But I've know her from her childhood. As for Daisy Irani who plays my daughter-in-law I was in her first film Bandish in 1955 when she played Meena Kumari's little son.

I remember she would come running into Meena's lap after every shot at RK Studios. And to be working with her after so many years!`

Shammi Aunty has also finished working in another film directed by Pavan Kaul. `I went to Bangkok to shoot for Pavan's film. Bela's and Pavan's films happened one after another. So maybe more work will come my way soon. `

Sighs the veteran actress. `It's God's work. He has been very kind to me. Otherwise why would I still be getting work? It is unaimaginable for me to be not working. Boman asked me how many films I had done. I had no clue! Recently someone googled on me and found out I had done nearly 200 films. I was amazed. When did I do all these films?! Time just flew by!`

Nowadays Shammi Aunty stays with her best friend Asha Parekh as the older actress has no domestic help in her own house. `But no complaints. I am happy to be still healthy and doing what I love. `
Azaad Hai Tu Title Track Witnesses One of the Biggest Song Launches of 2024!

Ajay Devgn, Director Abhishek Kapoor, Producer Pragya Kapoor, Aaman Devgn, and Rasha Thadani Captivate Bhubaneswar with a Grand Unveiling of the

Monday, December 23, 2024
Paatal Lok Season 2 Release Date, Everything You Need to Know About the Upcoming Crime Thriller!

The highly anticipated second season of the crime-thriller series Paatal Lok is set to premiere on January 17, exclusively on OTT platform Prime Video. With a stellar cast

Monday, December 23, 2024
Advance Bookings for this year's mass commercial Christmas entertainer Baby John are now open!

Produced by Murad Khetani, Priya Atlee, and Jyoti Deshpande, Baby John is a story that is close to everyone's heart. Directed by Kalees, the film is filled with emotions, humor, action, lively

Monday, December 23, 2024
Badshah Calls for Unity Amidst Diljit Dosanjh and A. P. Dhillon Controversy!

The escalating tension between Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh and singer-songwriter A. P. Dhillon has caught the attention of rapper Badshah, who has stepped in with a message

Monday, December 23, 2024
Allu Arjun's House Attacked Over Demands for Compensation in Stampede Incident!

The controversy surrounding the tragic stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad continues to escalate. On Sunday, protesters targeted the residence of Telugu superstar

Monday, December 23, 2024
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT