Always
known
as
the
Meryl
Streep
Of
India,
Shabana
Azmi
is
now
set
to
go
on
stage
in
a
role
that
Streep
has
played
in
the
US.
And
joining
Shabana
on
'Meryl
Street" is
her
good
friend,
Urmila
Matondkar.
For
those
who
have
been
wondering
where
Urmila
is
these
days
here"s
the
news.
She
is
all
set
to
go
on
stage
for
the
first
time
and
that
too
with
the
formidable
Shabana
Azmi
as
her
co-star.
The
play
entitled
Seven
has
been
performed
internationally
as
part
of
the
creative
endeavours
of
a
global
organization
known
as
Vital
Voices.
The
play
Seven
now
comes
to
Delhi
on
August
17th
as
a
culmination
of
the
2-day
Vital
Voices
Asia
Summit
in
Delhi.
Meryl
Streep
has
played
the
role
in
an
earlier
staging
of
the
play
in
the
US.
Apparently,
it
was
Shabana
who
coaxed
Urmila
Matondkar
to
step
into
plays.
Other
actresses
in
this
all-women
play
are
Shabana"s
sister-in-law
Tanvi
Azmi,
Tannishtha
Chatterjee,
Mahbanoo
Mody-Kotwal,
Jayati
Bhatia
and
Mahira
Kakkar,
who
has
also
done
the
play
internationally.
In
fact,
Shabana
orchestrated
the
whole
project
in
India
on
behalf
of
Vital
Voices.
She
not
only
got
all
the
actresses
to
agree,
but
she
also
spoke
to
Konkona
Sen-Sharma,
who
unfortunately
had
to
back
out
due
to
prior
commitments.
Shabana
protests
at
being
called
the
conductor
of
this
orchestra
for
this
prestigious
international
play.
“All
I
did
was
put
the
people
behind
the
project
in
touch
with
actresses
down
here.
They
wouldn"t
have
known
how
to
get
the
right
actors
for
the
parts.
Seven
is
a
very
prestigious
play
and
the
director,
Evan
Yionoulis,
is
a
theatre
phenomenon."
About
coaxing
Urmila
into
theatre,
Shabana
says,
“Urmila
and
I
go
back
a
long
way.
When
I
worked
with
her
in
Masoom
she
wasn"t
a
child
like
the
other
kids
in
the
film.
She
was
a
STAR.
We
bonded
years
later
during
Khalid
Mohamed"s
Tehzeeb
where
I
played
her
mother
and
we"ve
kept
in
touch.
Urmila
is
at
a
very
interesting
juncture
in
her
career
where
she
wants
to
explore
new
avenues."
Adds
Urmila,
“Yes,
I"m
going
on
stage
for
the
first
time.
Should
be
fun."