Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi — two of Shyam Benegal’s most iconic muses were often seen as torchbearers of parallel cinema. But behind the shared screen legacy lies a famously fraught relationship. Though both actors came from similar backgrounds and were hailed for their naturalistic performances, they were usually also pitted against each other. Now, in a recent interview, Shabana has spoken candidly about that rivalry. She recalled how her husband, screenwriter, Javed Akhtar, often urged her to find common ground with Smita, saying, “You guys should be friends.” Even actor Raj Babbar, who was married to Smita, made efforts to bridge the divide. “They wanted us to bury the hatchet,” Shabana admitted. “But that never happened. It’s not like the press created it all. There was definitely an inherent rivalry.” Shabana also addressed long-standing claims that Smita had lost roles to her. Dismissing the idea, she told Filmfare, “There were lots of imaginary roles that she thought I had snatched from her, but it was nothing like that.” She added that while both were …