Dabba Cartel: Shabana Azmi confesses she wanted to ‘remove’ Jyotika from the upcoming crime-thriller; ‘She doesn't know this...'

During the trailer launch of Dabba Cartel, Shabana Azmi confessed that she wanted to remove Jyotika from their upcoming crime thriller web show.

By Krishma Sharma

Updated on Feb 18, 2025 | 10:01 PM IST | 13.2K

Pic Courtesy: Viral Bhayani

Dabba Cartel is among the most promising web shows lined up for release soon. Days after unveiling its teaser, the makers today dropped the trailer of the show, led by Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Shalini Pandey, Anjali Anand, and Nimisha Sajayan, at a special event attended by the entire star cast and crew.

During the conversation, the veteran actress admitted that she wanted to remove two co-stars from the show, one of them being Jyotika.

On February 18, during the trailer launch of Dabba Cartel, the show’s director, Hitesh Bhatia, was asked about the logistics of assembling an ensemble star cast. In response, Shabana Azmi made a surprising confession, revealing that she had initially tried to remove two actresses from the show, including Jyotika.

She said, "I have a confession to make. There are two actresses in this show whom I wanted to remove. One is Jyotika. She doesn’t know this, but I really wanted her out and wanted to cast someone else. I even told Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Akhtar, ‘Kisi aur ko cast karte hain’ (Let’s cast someone else).”

Upon hearing this candid confession, Jyotika laughed, while the veteran actress added, "But thankfully, they didn’t budge. Shibani said, ‘Do whatever you want to, but we are not changing the cast.’ And I am grateful that they didn’t listen to me, because it would have robbed me of the chance to work with her."

When asked about who the other actress was, Shabana stated that she was not present at the event.

The trailer of the upcoming show, Dabba Cartel, revolves around the premise of a simple lunchbox service that spirals into a perilous game of crime, deception, and survival. It is a gripping tale centered on five middle-class women who find themselves entangled in a high-stakes criminal racket.

Dabba Cartel boasts a stellar cast, including Shabana Azmi, Gajraj Rao, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan, Shalini Pandey, Anjali Anand, Sai Tamhankar, Jisshu Sengupta, Lillete Dubey, and Bhupendra Singh Jadawat.

Directed by Hitesh Bhatia, Dabba Cartel is created by Shibani Akhtar, Vishnu Menon, Gaurav Kapur, and Akanksha Seda. It is set to premiere on Netflix later this month, on February 28, 2025.