This veteran actress holds the charm and charisma of leaving you wanting more
From the theatre stage to the silver screen, Shabana Azmi never ceases to amaze her fans. Born to poet Kaifi Azmi and stage actress Shaukat Azmi, Shabana pursued her acting career from Film and Television Institute of India and made her debut in 1974. It is her quality of bringing to screen the real raw emotions through the portrayals that made her a leading actor in Parallel cinema. She continues to mesmerize her audience so let’s take a look at some of her bewitching on-screen characters.
Ankur This is Shabana’s first film and marked the beginning of Shabana Azmi’s career as an actor and even won her the National Award for Best Actress for her performance. In this Shyam Benegal film, as a housemaid torn between an estrange husband, an extramarital affair, and being disowned to be accepted by her husband, won Shabana accolades for her electrifying, no-holds-barred acting and marked the beginning of her collaboration with legendary filmmaker Benegal.
Arth This is another feather in her hat for being the versatile actor that she is and for merely bringing to the large screen emotions through her portrayals that otherwise are pushed under the carpet. This Mahesh Bhatt drama film revolving around Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shabana Azmi, and Smita Patil narrates a story of a broken woman (Shabana) who is left to deal with her cheating husband who eventually leaves her for another woman. The amazing part of the film is how Azmi puts to life the character of Pooja who realizes her worth and embarks on the journey of self-discovery. Reportedly the film was made on a tight budget but was a hit at the box office.
Masoom Based on Erich Segal’s novel Man, Woman and Child and screenplay by Gulzar, the powerful performances by Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi were loved for showing the turmoil in married life when they discover that Shah has a child outside of marriage. Admirable is Azmi’s angst as the wife who has been betrayed. In her struggle to accept the child and forgive her husband, she depicts a woman’s capacity for forgiveness and acceptance. The film also got her a nomination in the Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.
Makdee This film saw Shabana in never seen before avatar as an actor in Vishal Bharadwaj’s directorial debut. As a hideous looking witch hunting down village children, she was highly terrifying. Apart from her looks, her acting was enough to intimidate kids and their parents.
Not just these, but films like Fire, Godmother, Swami, Junoon, Apne Paraye, and Sparsh among others with effortless acting chops make it clear how brilliant of an actor she is.
