Shabana Azmi reveals women flocked to her house to solve their marital problems after Arth: ‘I realized the power of actors’

Shabana Azmi, who starred in the landmark Mahesh Bhatt’s film ‘Arth’ in 1982, revealed in a recent interview that distributors wanted the film's ending changed, even though they liked the movie. To them, the notion of a woman rejecting her apologetic husband was somewhat strange.


During an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Shabana shared, “The distributors liked Arth but they told us to change the end because it is not possible that a Hindustani shauhar (husband) apologises to his wife and she refuses to accept him. They asked us to change this but Mahesh Bhatt and I explained to them that we made the film because of its ending. So, no matter what you do, the film will stay the same. However, after its release, nobody could guess the kind of response that we got for the film.”


The actress further also discussed Arth’s influence on society and the ways in which women from different backgrounds sought her assistance. Shabana said, “The film got the National Award but then it was like the film created a wave of change and courage in the society. Women started coming to my house not as fans but in sisterhood to ask for help to solve their marital problems. I felt I have so much responsibility and that’s when I realised the power actors have and how they can create an impact in the society. So, it won’t be right if they don’t use their position to do good for the society.”


Mahesh Bhatt's extramarital affair with the late actress Parveen Babi is allegedly the basis for the film ‘Arth’. The film centers on the ambitious filmmaker Inder (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who has an adulterous romance with popular actress Kavita (Smita Patil). After he leaves his wife Pooja (Shabana Azmi), she sets out on a quest to discover who she really is.