Before stardom, she sold coffee at a petrol pump for ₹30—guess who the actress is?

Shabana Azmi was born in Hyderabad on September 18, 1950, to the renowned poet Kaifi Azmi and the eminent theatre actress Shaukat Azmi. Growing up among great writers and celebrated intellectuals as a child, she was surrounded by literature, theatre and poetry throughout her youth. This context provided her a particular framework for seeing and understanding the world and gave her the inner fortitude to challenge the status quo. From a child, what she took on was not just an appreciation of the arts but also the values of humanitarianism and social accountability, values that became evident in the films she later chose to make.

According to DNA, Shabana wasn't dependent on her parents like a lot of star kids. She had no wish to be a nuisance and worked at a petrol station before college making coffee for ₹30 a day. Those hard years instilled a sense of independence in her and gave her pride. More importantly, it formed her identity as someone who would always create her own opportunities, not someone who would rely on another's success.

Her moment arrived in 1974 with Shyam Benegal’s film, ‘Ankur’. In it, she played the role of a pregnant domestic worker who is open to whatever happens or does not happen, revealing her vulnerabilities but not giving up her mind. It is so fresh and so authentic that she won a National Award for Best Actress as a first-time performer. The film is remarkable not just for introducing Shabana Azmi but to inspire Indian parallel cinema to engage in storytelling about real things and real lives. This was the beginning of a career that transcended the lines between art and activism.

During her illustrious career, Shabana maintained a deft balance between commercial Bollywood and serious parallel cinema. She became a beacon for women's stories, delivering outstanding performances in films such as Arth, Khandhar, Paar, and Godmother, in which women endure hardship, demonstrate resilience, and display strength as they navigate patriarchal society. Shabana received five National Film Awards and several Filmfare Awards, becoming one of the most awarded actors in Indian cinema.

Shabana's personal development was equally impressive. Her mother's autobiography claims that at one point in her child's earliest years, she became hopeless, even to the extent of wanting to die on two separate occasions. But, likewise in her life, both times she returned stronger, which in many respects characterizes both her field of work and her character. In 1984, she married the lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar, who had been divorced, and their union is characterized as strong and mature. She never became a mother, but never had that defined her identity or profile - she engaged in her artistic life, her activism, and her relationships with her extended family.