Shabana Azmi will be seen playing the role of Sonam Kapoor’s mother in ‘Neerja’. The actress apparently was the one to encourage Sonam to get into Bollywood. “Sonam has been like my ‘bachcha’ for many, many years. When she was really small, Anil Kapoor sent her to me saying, ‘Shabana, this girl wants to become an actress. Please explain her’. She was very scholarly, but when she said that she wanted to be an actress, I supported her. When Sunita (Sonam’s mother and Anil Kapoor’s wife) said that she wanted Sonam to get into dancing, I only introduced her to a Kathak teacher,” revealed Shabana. And the rest, as they say, is history.