Farewell my friend: Shabana Azmi pays tributes to Girish Karnad

It was a collaboration that started with Shyam Benegal's "Nishant" and now 44 years later, Shabana Azmi remembers theatre and film veteran Girish Karnad as a true intellect, whose life cannot be described in a single sound byte.

Azmi on Saturday finally opened up about her work relationship with Karnad, who died at the age of 81 at his residence in Bengaluru after prolonged illness on June 10.

In a Facebook post, titled "Farewell My Friend", the actor said she first heard about Karnad during the making of Benegal's 1974 feature "Ankur", when he assisted the director with the editing.

"Few people know that when Shyam Benegal first made 'Ankur' it was a very lengthy film. Shyam roped in Girish to help him edit the narrative. That's when I first heard of Girish."
"But to Girish's remarkable credit that didn't deter him from recommending Naseer to Shyam for a very important role in 'Nishant' -- his first break in films that launched his career and established him as a fine actor. A lesser person than Girish could have been revengeful."
"He didn't fancy himself as an actor and rued that it would damage his reputation as a playwright (who was fast getting acknowledged as one of the best in India). I would tease him and say, 'No matter... even if you aren't good, you are so good looking that all will be forgiven!' He would laugh loudly and then proceed to regale us with umpteen stories. it was a pleasure to hear him speak. I warmed up to him."
"Girish and I were tickled pink and made a pact that we wouldn't let on that we both thought otherwise! If that's how the audience saw him we would keep the secret between ourselves!
"But the fact is that he had undeniable screen presence and very soon turned into a fine actor."