The cast and scale of Anil Kapoor’s 24 seems to be growing bigger by the day. After Anupam Kher and Ajinkya Deo, Shabana Azmi has become the latest veteran to become a part of the Indian remake of the thriller series.

Shabana Azmi, who is known for her powerful roles in films like Arth, Masoom and Mandi, will be seen playing the role of an anti-terrorist officer on par with Anil Kapoor. In the show, this character will take over Jai Singh Rathore’s job of fighting terrorism when he is not available, i.e., goes missing in action. 

Shabana Azmi is the face of parallel cinema in India, having won 5 National Awards and 4 Filmfare Awards for her acting in landmark movies like Arth and Godmother. She has also acted for television in the fiction show Anupama, but this will be one of the strongest roles that Shabana has played on TV.

Shabana and Anil Kapoor have worked together before in films like Ek Baar Kaho and Rakhwala in the 1980s. And when Anil thought of this role of a strong anti-terrorism agent, he thought that Shabana was the best choice for the role. He finally managed to convince Shabana to take the plunge and the veteran actress started shooting for the show recently, despite nursing a fractured wrist.

Shabana Azmi took to social media to express her happiness at being a part of Anil Kapoor’s 24. She tweeted- ‘Completed my first days work on Anil Kapoors TV serial 24 directed by Abhinay Deo.Very young crew totally focussed on work.enjoyed myself’.

Apart from bringing the internationally acclaimed series 24 to Indian screens, Anil Kapoor must also be credited for bringing such powerhouse performers to the small screen. We can’t wait to see them in action!