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Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi to head Asia Pacific Screen Awards jury

Acclaimed actress and activist Shabana Azmi will be the president of the international jury for the inaugural Asia Pacific Screen Awards to be held in the Gold Coast in November.

Shabana Azmi, Farah Khan to receive awards at Leicester

Indian film celebrities Shabana Azmi and Farah Khan are among the invited recipients of international awards to be announced at the University of Leicester Dec 7. Veteran filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra is also lined up for the Global Media Award presented by the Triangle Media Group (TMG), according to a release from the university.Leicester Councillor Manjula Sood, who is a postgraduate from the university, will also be honoured for her outstanding contribution to local politics.
 

It's insane to ask Aamir to apologise, says Shabana 
(INTERVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha,

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) Activist-actress Shabana Azmi who is in London says the ban on the screening of Aamir Khan-starrer "Fanaa" in Gujarat by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists is completely unjustified.

"The attack on Aamir must be condemned in the strongest words possible because it is completely unjustified," Shabana told IANS in a telephone interview.

"Vested interests have been attempting to turn his remarks for the rehabilitation of project-affected people in the Narmada dam (area) into remarks against Gujarat. 

"Aamir has only said what the Supreme Court has said. It is insane to ask him to apologise for his remarks that have been twisted out of context on the basis of canard and innuendo."

Aamir has been in the eye of a storm since he expressed solidarity with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and demanded proper rehabilitation of those displaced by the dam. BJP leaders have said the actor should apologise to the people of Gujarat. 

But Shabana thinks Aamir is doing the right thing.

She said: "I am very proud of what Aamir has done - in giving voice to the voiceless. Any attempts to harm him and intimidate him will only make his resolve stronger to fight for social justice. The film industry needs to stand solidly behind Aamir and recognise that it is crucial to express solidarity with him. Today it is Aamir, tomorrow it can be XYZ." 

It's not that Shabana has any issues on people protesting against Aamir. 

"In a democracy the right to protest is an intrinsic freedom. If people wish to demonstrate against Aamir by holding placards outside the theatre showing 'Fanaa', it is acceptable. However, threats of violence should be dealt with firmly by the state and firm measures should be taken to maintain law and order. 

"It is the state's business to ensure that those citizens who wish to see the film should have the freedom to do so. No political party has the right to jeopardise a film that has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification." 
 

My character screams at her plants, says Shabana
By Subhash K. Jha,

Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) The versatile Shabana Azmi has completed another international assignment, "Bangla Town Banquet", in which she plays a London- based Bangladeshi woman who interacts with plants and ghosts.

Shabana told IANS: "'Bangla Town Banquet' is written by Tanika Gupta who wrote the play 'Waiting Room' which I performed at the National Theatre in London and was directed by a r-e-a-l-l-y bright and talented woman Hettie Macdonald.

"I am the film's protagonist. I play a Bangladeshi woman, Sufiya, living in East London who has two sons. Priya Kalidas of 'Bombay Dreams' plays my daughter. I play a strange kind of woman with a fetish for growing kaddoo in my small balcony.

"My character talks to and screams at her plants. Very quirky kind of character. Then her husband brings home a second wife, a woman who is younger than our daughter. The daughter is hopping mad. But Sufiya is calm. On a day trip with two friends she discovers the courage to walk out of the bad marriage."

It sounds like all those deserted-wife neo-classics like "Arth" and "Yeh Kaisa Insaaf" she did in Bollywood 25 years ago.

"Not at all! It's not so much a film on marital issues as a buddy film about female bonding. What's lovely is that my character interacts with a ghost who comes and moves my character's soul in unexpected ways."

She stops and sighs, "I'm very happy with this film."

IANS