Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films, television and theatre. Regarded as one of the finest actresses in India, Azmi’s performances in films of various genres have earned her praise and several accolades. This includes a record five National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards.
Shabana Azmi was honoured among “women in cinema” at the 30th International Film Festival of India.[4] In 1988, the Government of India awarded her with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour of the country. In 2012, she was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour by the Government of India.

The daughter of poet Kaifi Azmi and stage actress Shaukat Azmi, she is an alumna of Film and Television Institute of India of Pune. Azmi made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of Parallel cinema, a new-wave movement known for its serious content and neorealism and received government patronage during the times.[2][5] Azmi has appeared in over 120 Hindi and Bengali films in both mainstream and independent cinema, and since 1988, she has acted in several foreign projects. Several of her films have been cited as a form of progressivism which portrays Indian society, its customs and traditions.

In addition to acting, Azmi is a social and women’s rights activist. She is married to poet and screenwriter Javed Akhtar.[6] She is a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA). In appreciation of Azmi’s life and works, the President of India gave her a nominated (unelected) membership of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.

Azmi was born into a Shia family, in Hyderabad, India. Her parents are Kaifi Azmi (an Indian poet) and Shaukat Azmi (a veteran Indian People’s Theatre Association stage actress), both of whom were members of the Communist Party of India. Azmi was named at the age of eleven by Ali Sardar Jafri. Her parents used to call her Munni. Her parents had an active social life, and their home was always thriving with people and activities of the communist party.Early in childhood, the environment in her home inculcated into her a respect for family ties, social and human values; and her parents always supported her to develop a passion for intellectual stimulation and growth.

Azmi attended Queen Mary School, Mumbai. She completed a graduate degree in Psychology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and followed it with a course in acting at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.
Azmi graduated from the FTII in 1973 and signed on to Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Faasla and began work on Kanti Lal Rathod’s Parinay as well. Her first release, however, was Shyam Benegal’s directorial debut Ankur (1974). Belonging to the art-house genre of neo-realistic films, Ankur is based on a true story which occurred in Hyderabad. Azmi played Lakshmi, a married servant and villager who drifts into an affair with a college student who visits the countryside. Azmi was not the original choice for the film, and several leading actresses of that time refused to do it. The film went on to become a major critical success, and Azmi won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performances.

She went on to receive the National Film Award consecutively for three years from 1983 to 1985 for her roles in Arth, Khandhar and Paar. Godmother (1999) earned her another National Film Award, taking her tally to five. Azmi’s acting has been characterised by a real-life depiction of the roles played by her. In Mandi, she acted as a madam of a whorehouse. For this role, she put on weight and even chewed betel. Real life portrayals continued in almost all her movies. These included the role of a woman named Jamini resigned to her destiny in Khandhar and a typical urban Indian wife, homemaker and mother in Masoom. Some of her notable films are Shyam Benegal’s Nishant (1975), Junoon (1978), Susman (1978), and Antarnaad (1992); Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players); Mrinal Sen’s Khandhar, Genesis, Ek Din Achanak; Saeed Mirza’s Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai; Sai Paranjpye’s Sparsh and Disha; Gautam Ghose’s Paar; Aparna Sen’s Picnic and Sati; Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth; and Vinay Shukla’s Godmother. Her other films include the commercially successful Manmohan Desai’s Amar Akbar Anthony and Parvarish and Prakash Mehra’s Jwalamukhi. Azmi starred in Hollywood productions such as John Schlesinger’s Madame Sousatzka (1988) and Roland Joffe’s City of Joy (1992). Azmi was engaged to Benjamin Gilani in late 1970s, but the engagement was called off.[14] Later, she married Javed Akhtar, a lyricist, poet and scriptwriter in Hindi films, on 9 December 1984, making her a member of the Akhtar-Azmi film family.[15] It was Javed Akhtar’s second marriage, the first being with another Hindi film scriptwriter, Honey Irani. However Azmi’s parents objected to her being involved with a married man with 2 children (Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar) Since 1989, she has been a member of the National Integration Council headed by the Prime Minister of India; a member of National AIDS Commission (of India); and was nominated (in 1997) as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. In 1998, the United Nations Population Fund appointed her as its Goodwill Ambassador for Indi