Shabana Azmi’s wondrous experience entering the world of ‘Halo’

Shabana Azmi is just about to make a presentation at the University of Southampton, and it’s a windy day as she gets out of her car and makes her way into the auditorium, where in a few minutes, hundreds of students will assemble to listen to her.

“Sorry, it’s been a bit of a hectic day,” she apologises, for the disturbance on our Zoom call from her iPhone, as she recalls how she was cast in possibly one of the most challenging — and unlikely — roles in her decorated career thus far.

Even fans who have followed her body of work for decades were surprised when the news broke. The 71-year-old plays the role of Admiral Margaret Parangosky in the sci-fi series Halo — adapted from the iconic video game franchise of the same name — in what is a breakthrough moment for modern-day casting.

“The most interesting thing is that the series is completely full of colour-blind casting. Although there are actors from all over the world, they have not been cast due to their ethnicity or their nationality. I have not been asked to put on any kind of accent, or wear a blonde wig… I look and talk the way I do. All the performers, whether they’re Korean, Canadian or African-American, speak the way they do in real life, which for me, is very heartening. Particularly because I’ve been working in the West for the last 30 years, and it’s been a struggle with Asian actors asking for colour-blind casting and wondering why is it that all the best roles go to Caucasians? Finally, I’m seeing some progress in that direction,” she smiles.

And indeed, even after nearly five decades in the profession, her choices continue to intrigue us. Apart from Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, she is also busy working on British rom-com What’s Love Got to Do With It?, directed by Shekhar Kapur, in which Shabana shares screen space with Lily James and Emma Thompson.

Shabana muses, “People really want to see different kinds of stories and different kinds of faces. A few years back, it was unthinkable that after 35, a woman would still continue to get any decent parts… aside from the obligatory bhabhi role. But that space is opening up a lot, and I’m finding it really interesting.”

Shabana and Emma Thompson strike a pose while shooting for What’s Love Got to Do With It?

She adds, “I remember when I went to London to start shooting What’s Love Got to Do With It?, and my family was convinced that I wouldn’t be back because it was the height of the pandemic! And yet, we managed to shoot the film in about 48 days, which was even a record of sorts for Shekhar. In the process, I made really good friends with Emma Thompson, whom I’ve been such an admirer of. It was absolutely delightful in the added pressure of working through the pandemic, and made it less stressful for me than if I had been just staying at home waiting for things to clear up.”

But back to her current project, one that is being hotly anticipated by a legion of fans worldwide, many of whom have grown up on the games, that has sold over 81 million copies since inception. The Halo universe has since spawned several best-selling novels, short movies, animation projects, and more.

“You know, I thought I’d do a soft entry. So, when I met the studio, they gave me some books on Halo. I tried to read them, and then I realised it was very tough, because I had no idea what they were talking about. So I said, alright, let me try and see what the game is — and that was even more difficult! And so I finally decided to just surrender totally to whatever the filmmaker wants, and that was the easiest choice. Believe you me,” she laughs heartily. 

The visual image of one of India’s most legendary actors struggling to master a first-person-shooter game on a console, while her husband Javed Akhtar watches on, is amusing no doubt. But then, Shabana has always given it her all for every role — something she attributes to learning from her mother, the late theatre veteran Shaukat Kaifi.

“During Halo, there was a lot of work with green screen, and we had to imagine the visuals for which I really had to internalise the character. This is something that I learned to do by the process of osmosis, from my mother; she even used to dress up like her theatrical characters a lot — and that would dictate her walk and stuff like that.”

Shabana Azmi as Admiral Parangosky, Danny Sapani as Captain Jacob Keyes, and Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey in ‘Halo’ episode 1
| Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo

“Obviously, it’s always very challenging to get into a genre that you don’t know at all; it also requires, within yourself, a willing suspension of disbelief to enter an area (video games) that, even as a child or teenager, I wasn’t into. But it suddenly seemed as if an entire parallel universe of Halo lovers descended on me! And I quickly realised, my God, this is something so, so huge, and people have grown up on it with very fierce loyalties. Then it became exciting and the adrenaline rush just takes you through the whole thing,” she grins, with a glint in her eyes.

Dramatising an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, the series will weave personal stories with action, adventure and an imagined vision of the future; Shabana will share screen space with Hollywood names such as Pablo Schreiber (Master Chief Spartan-117), Natascha McElhone (Dr. Halsey) and Jen Taylor (Cortana).

The stars did a boot camp in Budapest to prepare for her role, after which they went straight into shooting. “To develop the character, there were several tests and lots of discussions with the costume designers, who were absolutely fantastic. It’s interesting, because you already attain a certain posture that is dictated by the fact that you’re wearing a costume like this,” she says.

“In this, I have to wear almost five-inch heels, which was very difficult to balance for me, but so much care was taken as I have a bad back. I think my training at the Institute (FTII) helped a lot, because one of the first things that we were taught is observation, concentration, and imagination. I’m still very grateful for my training until today.”

Shabana’s role of Margaret Parangosky — a no-nonsense, cold and calculating woman — involves a lot of scenes with co-star Natascha McElhone; a collaboration she enjoyed. “My favourite thing about the character is just the fact that she’s so conflicted. She’s an authority figure who gives out commands, but gets manipulated by this scientist who convinces her to break the rules because it’s for the good of humanity. So that conflict was something that Natasha — who exudes so much charisma — and I, particularly when we were doing our readings, understood we need to build onto.”

And finally, a word on Halo’s executive producer, none other than Steven Spielberg himself?

“He is so laid-back and completely innocuous when he comes, because he leaves it entirely to the director. It’s really refreshing to see what a quiet figure he can be. I mean, of course his aura is palpable whenever he walks into a room, but he tries very hard to play it down and doesn’t give any instructions whatsoever,” Shabana signs off.

HALO is currently streaming on Voot Select, with weekly episodes