Juhi Babbar Soni: ‘Please Come to Me With Good Roles’

Hansal Mehta’s Faraaz (2023) is based on the Holey Artisan Bakery attack that took place in Dhaka, in 2016. The film revolves around Faraaz Ayaz Hossain (Zahan Kapoor), a student who was held captive by violent extremists and who lost his life trying to protect his friends. The role of his mother has been played by Juhi Babbar Soni. The film was received warmly by many and has been on Netflix India’s most-watched list for weeks now. The response that Babbar Soni has got to her performance has ranged from flattering to amusing. “I've had people come to me, people like Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi. I remember they held me and they were like, ‘Where have you been?’ I'm like, ‘Home’,” she said. Director Anurag Kashyap told Babbar Soni that after watching Faraaz, he’d asked Mehta about her. He told Babbar Soni, “I asked Hansal ki yeh kaun hai... Irani actress hai, Pakistani actress hai? (I asked Hansal if you were an Iranian or Pakistani actress?).” 

Faraaz marks Babbar Soni’s return to acting on screen after five years. “The strength of that lady and the courage,” said Babbar Soni when talking about what drew her to playing the fictionalised version of Simeen Rahman, Faraaz’s mother who is also an entrepreneur. “She narrated that whole night to me. She told me what had happened but not a tear, no moist eyes,” Babbar Soni recalled. She’s just finished filming a web series in which she plays a woman who struggles with anxiety. “It's a very challenging role because playing strong and bold characters goes well for me. This is going to be a complete contrast to what people have seen me do in Faraaz,” she told Film Companion. 

Here are edited excerpts from the interview: 

What about Faraaz’s story appealed to you?

Well, it is a true story with such a poignant message. And of course, (director) Hansal Mehta is a part of it.

What was it like to work with the cast?

Unfortunately, I didn't have any scene with Aditya (Rawal). My performance-oriented scenes were not with the boys, except for my second scene with Zahan in which he is leaving and I talk to him in the corridor. In every scene, I had a different co-actor. This was interesting and it helped me explore my equation with each character because it's a test of her patience. That's the desperation and the emotion that the mother is driven by.

Most of your scenes show you in a very panic-induced state. How did you keep yourself suspended in that emotion throughout the film?

I think the readings helped. It's my way of going about my performance. I spend a lot of time with my script and dialogues. I'm not the sort of actor who will only read my part. I will read the entire script. Then before my take when I'm reading my scene, I will always read two scenes before that and the two scenes after that. Definitely, it's the theatre training and approach towards the character.

How did you prepare for this role?

There's not much that went into preparation, to be very honest. We (Mehta and Babbar Soni) had one solid but very short chat. But then that's Hansal Mehta for you…the confidence that he has in his actors. … I was facing the camera again after nearly six years, that too for such an intense role. I did have my video calls with the lady herself, with Simeen Rahman. That I think stayed with me, always will. 

Was Faraaz worth the wait?

Definitely! How I wish something like Faraaz had happened to me earlier. God has been very kind to me because there were a million choices for this role, but (casting director) Mukesh Chhabra, Hansal sir and the producers, I'm extremely grateful they trusted me with this. … By the way, he (Mehta) didn't make me read anything, didn't ask me to give an audition, and didn't have any look tests. Nothing at all. I just went to meet him. He narrated the story to me and was telling me about his experience when he went to meet the family in Bangladesh. It's just so surprising because today for the tiniest of roles, the director expects you to give an audition, which is fine. That is the way things are, so one has to succumb to it and do it. But here is a director who is one of the best we have. He didn't (want an audition), not even once.

Did being a mother yourself help you embody Simeen’s role?

Of course, because I'm a mother I relate to the emotion. But I really won't say that that was at the back of my mind or was my driving instrument. What has immensely impacted me is Simeen Rahman herself and that conversation with her. 

You've said in the past that your father (Raj Babbar) was perhaps the only man who produced a film for his daughter while people were making movies for their sons. Do you think that's changed? 

Times have changed. Abhi toh log apna paisa lagate bhi nahi hai, abhi studios aa gaye hai (People don't invest their own money. We have studios for that now). But I'm talking of times when Dharam ji (Dharmendra) was launching Sunny (Deol) and Bobby (Deol) or Vinod Khanna ji was launching Akshaye (Khanna). Boney (Kapoor) was launching Anil Kapoor or Sanjay Kapoor. It was a trend, they were supposed to do it. But it didn't happen with the girls. So that is why I give immense credit to my father, Raj Babbar. At that point, he was the only actor in the industry who launched his daughter. Now, it's amazing when I see Chunky Panday so supportive of Ananya (Panday). Mahesh (Bhatt) uncle has always been very supportive of his daughters. There's Shah Rukh Khan...Suhana (Khan) is already out there. … Dads are very supportive today. They are going all out. 

How have you navigated the industry for so many years?

I've never run after work. My first film flopped, way back in 2004, it was a sweet film and I was good in it. Magar ab film nahi chali, toh nahi chali na? (But if the film didn’t work, what can you do?) It's not that I didn't get work after that, but I was getting crap. At least I had the sensibilities, even then, that I did not want to associate myself with something that I would regret. There are a lot of people who are comfortable doing it and they became stars. Good for them. But I did not want to take that route. Today, I don't have to hide videotapes from my son. I'm not embarrassed about any work that I've done. 

Are you being offered more opportunities after Faraaz?

For the last two days, I've been flooded with calls for casting. These calls are you know which calls? “Arey, come on yaar, new face!” They are still not wanting to cast me for my talent. They are not even giving it a thought. I don't care for these calls. I would like people to really watch Faraaz, and take their time. I'm in no rush. Please come to me with good roles. Otherwise, I can again wait for another 15 years and then do a grandmother's role.