Shabana Azmi is an actress par excellence and is considered to be one of the best actresses to have graced Indian cinema.
She majorly contributed towards bringing parallel cinema to the fore and powered the brilliance of the genre with her amazing acting skills. She won numerous awards at the peak of her career with a record of five National Awards. Shabana created such an impact with her stellar performances in films one after the other that will be impossible to recreate.
The original diva series:
Hema Malini
Zeenat Aman
Rekha
Parveen Babi
Sharmila Tagore
Dimple Kapadia
The Beginning
Shabana Azmi made her Bollywood debut with the critically acclaimed film 'Ankur', released in 1974. Though many said that she didn't exactly fit the role of a villager, there was no questioning the fact that she was indeed an explosive actress. After her debut, ace filmmaker stated "In 'Ankur' she may not have fitted immediately into her rustic surroundings, but her poise and personality are never in doubt. In two high pitched scenes, she pulls out the stops to firmly establish herself as one of our finest dramatic actresses".
Claim to Fame
Her first film itself fetched her a National Award and Shabana Azmi went on to act in a number of movies. She juggled between arthouse and commercial cinema with films like 'Nishant', 'Mandi', 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Chor Sipahee', 'Arth', 'Masoom', etc. slowly sealing her place in the industry as one of the finest actresses ever. She pulled a hat trick when she won the National Award for three consecutive years from 1983-1985 for 'Arth', 'Khandhar' and 'Paar'.
The Oomph factor
Shabana Azmi's most attractiveness lies in her earthy appeal. She wasn't one of those 'painted' glamorous actresses of her time but made her natural beauty her strongest asset. Her vulnerability on screen, drew people towards her and only helped in expanding her ever growing admirers.
The Calling
Shabana attributed her admission into her acting school to Jaya Bhaduri's performance in a diploma film, 'Suman'. She said, "I was completely enchanted by her performance because it was unlike the other performances I had seen. I really marvelled at that and said, 'My god, if by going to the Film Institute I can achieve that, that's what I want to do.'" As they say, the rest is history.
Did You Know?
Shabana dated Shekhar Kapur for seven long years before getting married to Javed Akhtar.
She is also the aunt of actresses Farha Naaz and Tabu.
Shabana Azmi Now
Apart from acting in a few chosen films every now and then, Shabana juggles with being a committed social activist, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Rajya Sabha Member.
Throughout her journey, Shabana Azmi not only earned a lot of respect but also courted a number of controversies. From acting in the film 'Fire', which was opposed by a number of social groups, to taking a stand in political, social and religious issues, Shabana has never shied away from taking a stand for what she feels is right. More than an actress she is a human being extraordinaire which makes having her in Bollywood more special.
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