Entertainment factor in today's movies be re-defined: Shabana Azmi

Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi, who turned 60, feels the entertainment factor in the films is becoming narrower and needs to be re-defined.

"I feel today the definition of entertainment is becoming narrower...there are double meaning jokes and all that. There seems to be a need to re-define entertainment," Shabana said on the sidelines of an award function here.

Brooke Bond Taj Mahal in association with the Enlighten Film Society conferred the 'Taj Enlighten Tareef Award' on Azmi today for her outstanding contribution to cinema.

The actress, who turned 60 yesterday, said, "I embrace the 60 years of my life with profound satisfaction and happiness. There have been ups and downs but I have no regrets. One needs to embrace the bad along with the good and take it as it comes."

The actor feels today's younger league of women actress need to experiment with different kind of roles.

"I feel the young women actress in the industry instead of doing roles where they look ten years younger should take up roles of a mother. They need to use transition into characters that they play seamlessly," Shabana said.

The actor also feels joining the film institute has helped her go a long way in her acting career.

"Training is important for actors…inspirations and observations don't help you much. With proper training the raw diamond gets polished and you become a skilled person. It helps you balance as an actor between art and main stream cinema. One would be easily able to emulate emotions of any type with the right techniques," Shabana said.

After completing her graduate degree in Psychology from St Xavier's College, Mumbai, Shabana took up a course in acting at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune in 1973.

About milestones in her career, the actress said, "When I decided to join the film institute…I feel that was the milestone as it shaped my future. Then it is about being at the right place at the right time."

On her future plans, Shabana said, "I have just finished some shows of my play Broken Images. I am going to open a new play called Seven. Then there is another play Kaifi Aur Main for the Delhi government as a run up to the Commonwealth Games."