Shabana Azmi’s Protest Stand Wins Javed Akhtar’s Praise: ‘She Hasn’t Lost Her Activist Spirit’
Javed Akhtar spoke of his wife Shabana Azmi’s decision to join the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) student protests in New Delhi and how proud he was of her decision to stand with the demonstrators. In fact, Javed said she does not surprise him because her political activism has been a part of her since she was young and has been for decades.
Shabana had travelled to Delhi to participate in the protest at Jantar Mantar as demonstrations were taking place over the NEET paper leak controversy. And her presence was noticed because few film personalities had joined the students there. However, Javed said that his wife’s decision was in keeping with her activist spirit throughout her life.
Javed Akhtar Recalls Shabana’s Activist Past
In the podcast Lets Talk With DevnaG, Javed recalled that activism was already a part of Shabana’s life when the two became close in the late 1970s. She had taken positions on social and political issues repeatedly, he said, sometimes at her own risk.
Javed remembered Shabana calling him from London while he was in London to inform him of her plans to travel to Delhi. He didn’t react shocked, though; instead he saw it as a continuation of the person he knew for decades. He recalled going to a police station to ask her for her release and talking about her participation in hunger strikes and other demonstrations.
One of these incidents Javed referred to was Shabana’s participation in the 1993 Cuffe Parade protests in Mumbai. The demonstrations were in opposition to the demolition of homes owned by slum residents. Shabana was arrested along with 16 other protesters and according to Javed, refused bail or to accept the charges against her.
The incident also put her into conflict with her professional plans. Shabana was scheduled to perform Tumhari Amrita at Tata Theatre during her time at the jail. Her mother, veteran actor Shaukat Kaifi, suggested to the police to escort her to the venue so that she could honour her promise. Shabana performed in the clothes she was wearing when she was arrested before going back to court. Javed later arranged her bail.
‘The Old Shabana Has Woken Up’
Reflecting on Shabana’s decision to join the Delhi protest, Javed noted that her previous actions reminded him of the activist he had known earlier in their relationship. He also praised her bravery for going beyond statements of support to the point of joining the protesters and actually walking with them.
Javed’s recollections also showed the difference between voice of opinion from a distance and attending a protest where there is uncertainty about the response the authorities and the public might make. For him, Shabana’s decision was a return to the activist who had taken part in demonstrations throughout her career.
The actor’s involvement had also been preceded by an attempt to address the issue through correspondence. Shabana said she and Javed wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ask him to meet the students protesting. They were acknowledged but not for three days, so Shabana went to Delhi herself to stand with the demonstrators.
Javed Akhtar on Fear and Conscience
Javed also talked about the fear that comes with public activism. If you speak up against powerful institutions or controversial issues, he said, that scares you, but you have to find the guts to try to do what is right and to do what is right.
He said people may feel scared in those circumstances but silence can be a different kind of discomfort. For Javed, it is a matter of “calling a spade a spade” rather than staying quiet simply because speaking out may bring you harm.
In this sense, he connected this to personal integrity and said that it is difficult to keep peace with oneself to not stand up for what you feel is right. His comments cast Shabana’s protest not simply in terms of a political act but also as the extension of a personal philosophy that the couple have followed through their whole lives.
Shabana Azmi’s appearance at the CJP protest therefore marked another chapter in a decades-long history of activism. Javed Akhtar’s recollections placed her latest decision in the context of her earlier protests, arrests and public interventions, and his pride in her willingness to act on her convictions was also apparent.
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