From being sari-clad, teary-eyed melodramatic mothers to smart, strong and independent women - forty plus actresses are having a ball in Bollywood. Seasoned actress Shabana Azmi says this is the best time for women her age to be in Hindi films.”Earlier, there was hardly any visibility in Bollywood films for women over 40 years except for those cranky, motherly and grandmotherly roles. But today, there are so many different roles on the platter. Basically, with the kind of choices that actresses my age are getting these days, this is a pretty time to be in Bollywood,” Shabana told IANS in an interview.

Shabana has dabbled in a melange of powerful roles in “Ankur”, “Mandi”, “Arth”, and “Masoom” in the past to the more recent films like “Godmother”, “Fire”, “Hari Bhari” “Morning Raga” and “Dus Kahaniyaan” in her career spanning over three decades.

The actress feels she is at the “right place at the right time”. “I am getting delightful roles that can be wicked, naughty, comic as well as usual positive roles,” she said.

Shabana added that she now gets to be a part of light-hearted films like “Loins of Punjab Presents” and “Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd” in contrast to the serious roles she is known for in parallel cinema.

“Today filmmakers are offering such a variety of roles - from strong, dramatic and powerful roles, I am also getting offers for comedy. The image of women has changed so much for the better in the industry,” she said.