Tanvi Azmi: I'm blessed to be liberated

The quiet but spirited Tanvi Azmi has chosen a happy niche for herself in both personal and professional spheres.
Self confessedly withdrawn from public glare, the actress claims her marrying into the Azmi household brought her more in sync with her real persona (Tanvi married Baba Azmi, brother of actress Shabana Azmi). On a recent visit to Chandigarh Tanvi settled down for a conversation with Chandigarh Times.
Shabana is more vocal about social issues and about her profession.Your father-in-law KaifiAzmi was a social commentator. While your strength also resonates in the characters you choose to play on-screen, you haven't come out in public very much. Did your marriage into that family, brimming with vocal expressions, augur with your persona? You know, I feel the kind of person you become begins in your childhood. My father was a doctor who chose to quit practicing medicine because he could not think of making a living by charging people to cure them. My mother was another strong person. She proposed to my father because she told him, 'I want my kids to be educated and cultured like you'. And my presence in my household was much feted, despite being a daughter, at every occasion. For instance, when I attained puberty there was a celebration in the house because my parents said our daughter has stepped into womanhood now…so, you can imagine the kind of liberated thinking that was instilled in me since childhood. I'm blessed to be liberated. Coming with that kind of an upbringing, when I married Baba I was in resonance, in sync with the Azmi household. But yes, while my on screen choices do reflect my strength of character, I am not very drawn towards public glare; I am kind of public shy. I prefer to stay in the background.
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So, you prefer to show your strength by portraying women centric roles on screen instead? Most of our choices as actors do stem from our personal beliefs, at least it does for me. Yes, I do get drawn into a script that has something to say. And now, the offers I get also are of that kind, even if its one scene. I don't get weak portrayals, or even negative characters, though I would love to do one. My roles are that of a soft, yet strong woman…pretty much the woman I am in real. Like, the recent Marathi film I did, Lal Bhaari, where I play Riteish Deshmukh's mother, is another very strong woman.
Personally, you think it makes a difference if you project strength on screen as a woman for other common women to follow? I get naturally drawn into roles where the woman is ostracized. But yes, it is a time when women dominate cinema, and is talking about ordinary women doing heroic acts, like Queen for instance, was about one such woman. But even in real life, I feel every woman, including the domestic help, is a superwoman today for the kind of balancing act she can do between her work, kids and family.
And how do you classify your role in Bobby Jasoos? (Laughs) Well, honestly I was petrified when I took that offer. A lot of my husband's family lives in Hyderabad and I thought if I don't get the accent right, woh toh kaat hi dalenge mujhe!
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