Ayesha Dharkar, the vampish Rani in Bombay Dreams and Malli in The Terrorist, is very well known for her versatility as an actress. And the one actress that this talented lady looks up to is none other than Shabana Azmi.

The duo last worked together many years ago in Roland Joffe's City Of Joy. They will now be seen again in Manish Acharya's Loins of Punjab Presents. Ayesha was 12 when she worked with Shabana for the first time and she recalls how the senior actress had a strong role to play in the way Ayesha looked at acting as a profession and very quickly became both her idol and her mentor. Ayesha recalls that she was never intimidating or inaccessible but always very generous with her time. The actress recalls how thrilled she was at the prospect of working with Shabana in a comedy (Loins of Punjab Presents) as she is a consummate comedienne and Ayesha got the chance of seeing her at her technical best, but also having fun. There's a load that she's learnt from her, she says. Shabana definitely has an ardent fan here.