India, April 3 -- Shyam Benegal was a representative voice of the parallel cinema movement that ushered in new aesthetics in the 1970s. His first film, Ankur, received widespread acclaim and marked the acting debut of Shabana Azmi. But did you know that Shabana was not the first choice for the film? Shyam had first offered the film to acclaimed actor Aparna Sen, but she had turned it down. In a new conversation with Straight up with Shree, Aparna revealed why.

The veteran writer-director shared that her Hindi films were 'thundering flops' and she never made those films to become a mainstream heroine. She said, "I was asked and I did it. The money was tempting. I think I needed the money for something or the other and unfortunately the ch...