Shabana Azmi's mother Shaukat Azmi passes away at 91 after prolonged age-related illness

Shabana Azmi's mother Shaukat Azmi succumbed to illness and breathed her last today. The iconic theatre artist was 91 years old and had been ailing for a while now due to old age. The news of her death was confirmed by her son-in-law, veteran writer and lyricist Jaaved Akhtar. Shaukat Azmi is survived by her daughter veteran actor Shabana Azmi and son Baba Azmi. 

Shaukat Azmi referred to herself as Shaukat Kaifi as she was married to progressive Urdu poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi. The thespian was well known not only for her contribution to the theatre and cinema but also for her talent as a voice artist on All India Radio. Along with her husband, Kaifi Azmi, Shaukat Azmi was an integral part of the Indian People’s Theatre Association, which is the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India. 

A strong, progressive cultural icon

The late actor had acted in films like M.S. Sathyu’s Garm Hava (1974), Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan (1981) as well as the Sagar Sarhadi directorial Bazaar (1982). Her role in Garm Hava had won her critical appreciation as it dealt brilliantly with a sensitive issue like the exploration of the aftermath of the India-Pakistan partition in terms of the atmosphere of restlessness and uprootedness it caused in the Muslim families that decided to stay on this side of the border. In Muzzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan featuring actor Rekha, Shaukat Azmi portrayed the role of Khanam, a strong, autonomous and impressive woman, who runs the best show of courtesans in Lucknow. Her film Bazaar explored the tragedy of young Indian girls who are ‘sold’ into marriage to rich Arabs from the Gulf. The late actor was last seen in Shaad Ali's Saathiya in 2002.

Shaukat had also penned down a memoir called Kaifi & I which was later adapted to a theatrical script called Kaifi Aur Main. The late theatre artist will be cremated on Saturday. On the occasion of her beloved mother's 90th birthday last year, actor Shabana Azmi had posted a picture with her mother on Instagram.

Take a look at her post: