Shabnam: Ehtesham told my father, “Give me your daughter; she will act in the film.” Among the girls he saw while they were learning dance at Bulbul Lalitkala Academy, I looked the prettiest in the photographs. My father could not give Ehtesham chacha (uncle) an answer that day. He only said, “All right, let me see. But will she be able to do it? Jharna is so naughty. She cannot even sit in one place for very long.” Ehtesham chacha then said, “Give her to me. We will teach her the rest.” My father came home and told my mother about it. As soon as she heard, my mother said, “Absolutely not. Have you lost your mind? She would go into films, where she cannot sit in one place for even five minutes. With all the mischief in her head she is going to work in films! It will bring nothing but disgrace.”

My father would ask my mother every day, but she kept refusing. Meanwhile, Captain chacha (Shabnam used to call Ehtesham "Ccaptain chacha") continued to pursue my father relentlessly. He would say, “What’s the matter? Won’t you give me your daughter?” At that time, there were only a few women in the film industry. Sultana Zaman was there. Sumita Devi was there. Chitra Sinha was there. Rowshan Ara was there. But my mother would not agree under any circumstances.

My paternal and maternal family both were zamindars (land-owners). When my maternal uncles heard about it, they became extremely angry. They told my mother, “Have you lost your mind? You are going to let your daughter act in films?” But my father talked to my mother. He said, “Ehtesham is insisting so strongly. Jharna has an artistic spirit. Let her do it. Let her act in one film. If she cannot do it, she can come back.” Then my mother could no longer refuse. She said, “All right, let her go. Let her do it.”

And that was it. I went, I acted, and I kept acting and I never stopped. I never had to look back.