Says Shabana, “It is very difficult to carry the bonding during shooting to the outside. Most on-set friendships end on the sets. It is very different with Jaya. We hit it off instantaneously when we met on Karan’s set. Karan makes everyone so comfortable and happy. There’s bound to be a closeness between the actors.”
Of course they had met socially on several occasions before shooting for ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’. “But when you are on the set it’s a different experience. There is more focused conversation. I have to confess I was always a huge fan of Jaya. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve seen ‘Abhimaan’,” gushes the five-time National Award winner Shabana.
On screen in Karan’s film Jaya and Shabana play warring characters who hate each other. But once the camera was switched off they were best friends. “And I am going to ensure that it continues that way. I never knew Jaya has such a sense of humour. She had me in splits. She’s also given me a gift which I shall cherish for as long as I am alive,” Shabana vows.
Incidentally, Shabana and Jaya’s sons Farhan and Abhishek are childhood friends. Farhan had offered Abhishek one of the lead roles of Sid, the one Saif Ali Khan finally played in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’.
