'I hate Urmila Matondkar'

She was the pretty young wife of a deaf-mute farmer who falls in love with the landlord in Ankur. She was the jealous wife in Junoon. She explored the world of the blind as a loving girlfriend in Sparsh. She was the silent younger sister in Namkeen.

She was the wronged wife in Masoom and Arth. She was the brothel keeper in Mandi. She was the quietly suffering wife in Mrityu Dand and Fire. She was the witch in Makdee...

I could go on and on, but this is how I remember her best. Shabana Azmi has dazzled on the big screen, both at home and internationally, with versatile performances since 1974, and has no plans to stop yet.

And it's not just the film industry. The actress is also a social activist involved with various causes - from raising awareness of Aids to solving the housing problems of the economically weaker sections of Indian society.

tabloid! had a quick chat with her during her visit to Dubai for the inauguration of the sixth VLCC (Vandana Luthra Curls & Curves) centre in Dubai. Azmi is the brand ambassador of VLCC.

We haven't seen you since Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.

I have a film released just three weeks ago, the Lions of Punjab. It's a lovely film and not only has it got good review; it is doing very well commercially too.

You are very involved in theatre and have done many international projects too. What's in the pipeline?

At the moment we're touring with a play called Kaifi Aur Mein based on the life of my parents and written by my husband, Javed Akhtar. Javed plays Kaifi, my father, and I play my mother, Shaukat. At the moment, that's what's keeping me busy in theatre. I'm going through some scripts.

Your parents were poets. Your husband is a poet too. How come the bug hasn't bitten you?

I'm busy providing the inspiration. (laughs).

Any plans for directing or writing screenplay for a film?

Sounds like too much hard work (laughs). Right now, life is offering me a lot. And I am very happy with whatever I'm doing. Direction is too much work.

Tell us about the secret to your successful marriage?

The fact that we never meet. We often joke that we are such good friends that even marriage couldn't ruin our friendship. And I think that's the secret of its success. We share a common world-view. Several generations of both our families have been poets and we also have a similar political viewpoint. We do not confine our relationship with role-playing, so, it is very special relationship.

Can two actors in Indian film be friends?

Of course. Obviously there is a certain amount of rivalry that can happen in any profession but things get hyped a lot more in films.

Do you have any friends in the film industry?

I don't have anyone in the film industry whom I can call a "friend", but I get along famously with most of them. Even the younger lot, such as Perizaad [Zorabian], Sandhya Mridul and Diya Mirza. Urmila Matondkar and I get along fabulously. I hate Urmila Matondkar, by the way! Because, have you seen her figure? Is it for real? Do you know she eats and eats and eats and I don't know where she puts it. Here I was on the sets of Tehzeeb, being very careful about my diet and she would simply gorge. She has this simply amazing body. I share a very healthy relationship with my school friends, which has continued over the years because they are my "core" people.

Who do you consider your successor?

Konkona Sen Sharma, any day. She is a very special actor and I think she's made some very brave moves. But I would like to give her only one word of caution. It is fine to do mainstream cinema but one must balance it with some very substantial roles. If you get absorbed in mainstream then all your time goes in that, unless you consciously take a decision and say: "I know there's no money here but this is something I need to do for my own credibility."

Are art films dying out?

Just because films are not made on feudalism anymore doesn't mean art cinema doesn't exist. See, for people of the 1970s, such as Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, feudalism was something they were very concerned with. Now you have a whole lot of younger filmmakers who have never been to a village, who haven't experienced the struggle for land rights, so feudalism holds no meaning. But they know of urban angst.

No more political aspirations after your stint in Rajya Sabha ( the upper house of parliament)?

The body of the work I do - which is rights for the underprivileged, of housing for the economically weaker sections of the society, either in Mijwan, my father's village, where he set up an NGO, or in Mumbai with Nivaraha - all this work is political but not associated with a [political] party. When you talk of empowering people and giving them confidence and getting them to matter, it is political work.

Shabana's style quotient

Actress Shabana Azmi says she always dresses for the ocassion. "It's a misconception I wear only Indian dresses. I am an eclectic dresser. I dress for the occasion. If I am going to the parliament, I would be in cotton sari, completely underdressed. But I would dress glamorously for an awards function."

Sizing it up

Shabana Azmi says she is not figure conscious. "I don't have a constant weight. In fact, in my profession, it is the character you are playing that determines your size. For example, I put on 12 kilos for my character in Mandi and had to get rid of it all in one month. It was pure torture."

"It all depends on the part I'm playing. But, if I need to lose weight, I'm extremely disciplined. Left on my own, I love eating all the wrong kinds of food, such as bhelpuri, samosas, bhajias - all the stuff that is not good for my health. As for exercise, I live close to the beach and love going for walks. I use the treadmill too," she added.

Azmi's top films