Shabana Azmi is the sweetheart of the Indian New Wave, generally referred as Parallel Cinema. She was born on Sept. 18, 1950 in a Muslim family with a communal background. Her father Kaifi Azmi was an illustrious Indian poet and her mother Shaukat Azmi was a noted stage actress.

She was in a relationship with Shekhar Kapur for seven years. She graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai majoring in Psychology and followed it with a degree in acting from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

It was the actress Jaya Bhaduri’s performance in the movie ‘Suman’ that inspired her to learn acting. Shabana tied the knot with Javed Akhtar and is the aunt of actresses Tabu and Farah Naaz.

Her debut release was the movie ‘Ankur’ was also Shyam Benagal’s directorial debut. The movie was based on a real life incident that occurred in Hyderabad. It went on to become a major box-office ripper and she received National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance.

She received the award for three years in a row from 1983-1985. Her portrayal of a forlorn woman who falls in love with her sister-in-law in the film ‘Fire’, literally sparked fire for her depiction of lesbianism in middle-class India. Azmi exploited her celebrity status to voice her views on various social affairs. Post Sept. 11, 2001, she revolted against the advice of grand mufti of Jama Masjid to join people of Afghanistan in their fight by retorting that the leader should go alone. She even protested against the ostracism of the AIDS victims.