Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress and social worker. She was born on 18 September 1950 in Hyderabad. Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She completed her schooling from Queen Mary School, Mumbai. She earned a degree in Philosophy from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. 

Her father, Kaifi Azmi was a famous Indian poet. Her mother, Shaukat Azmi was an actress. Her brother Baba Azmi is a photographer. 

She is married to Javed Akhtar, a famous Indian poet and lyricist. 

Shabana Azmi’s favourites

Her hobbies include travelling, listening to music, watching films and reading poems. 

She loves to eat Hyderabadi biryani. 

Her favourite actors are Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhubala, Nargis, and Dev Anand.

Her favourite film is Mughal-e-Azam. 

Her favourite book is ‘Chokher Bali’ by Rabindranath Tagore. 

Her favourite travelling destinations are New York and London. 

Interesting facts about Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi is a popular Indian actress. She has worked in more than 100 films. 

She pursued an acting course from the renowned Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. 

Shabana Azmi’s film debut

In the year 1974, Shabana Azmi made her Bollywood debut with the blockbuster hit film ‘Ankur.’ The film was directed by Shyam Benegal, and it won the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film. 

Film actresses Tabu and Farah Naaz are Shabana Azmi’s nieces. 

National Awards

Shabana Azmi has been honoured with the National Film Award for Best Actress a total of five times. She has also won the Filmfare Award four times. 

She provides financial help to people who live slums. She also helped the Kashmiri Pandit migrants and victims after the Latur earthquake in Maharashtra. 

In 1989, she joined a four-day long march from New Delhi to Meerut for communal harmony. 

Shabana Azmi’s legacy

Shabana Azmi has been awarded with the Honourary Doctor of Arts by Brandon Foster, Chancellor of Leeds, Metropolitan University, Yorkshire. 

In the year 1999, she was honoured with the National Film Award for Best Actress for the film ‘Godmother.’

She played the role of ‘Radha’ in the 1998 film ‘Fire.’ Directed by Deepa Mehta, the film received critical acclaim. 

Shabana Azmi’s filmography

Shabana Azmi’s popular films are Masoom (1983), Arth (1982), Mandi (1983), Sparsh (1980), Fire (1996), Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977), Paar (1984), Nishant (1975), Mrityudand (1997), Godmother (1999), Makkdi (2002), 15 Park Avenue (2005), Khandhar (1984), Morning Raga (2004), Swami (1977), Namkeen (1982), Neerja (2016), and many more.