Bollywood couple Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi receive UAE golden visa

Indian lyricist, poet and writer Javed Akhtar along with actress and wife Shabana Azmi received their UAE golden visa.

They join the long list of Indian actors such as Varun Dhawan, Bhagyashree, Prithviraj, Mohanlal, and Dulquer Salmaan who are also recipients of the UAE golden visa.

“We are deeply honoured to receive the golden visa and thank the authorities for considering me worthy to receive this privilege,” said the couple in a statement.

Akhtar remains one of India’s most popular lyricists and screenwriters and boasts a prolific Bollywood career with five National Film Award wins, a Padma Shri in 1999, and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India’s highest civilian honours.

Akhtar became a household name after he collaborated with Salim Khan and turned screenwriter for films such as ‘Sholay’ and ‘Deewar’.

Azmi, who has acted in more than 100 films in a career spanning over four decades, is one of India’s most versatile talents.

“Content is king and that reality is finally becoming real. The realisation that you have to invest in good content is leading to a big change. Many interesting actors are now available from theatre, from small towns and from different kinds of spaces. The obsession with the urban western stories about rich people are giving way to stories about small town aspirations. So it is changing, the protagonist is changing from the make belief world to much more real world,” said Azmi in a previous interview with Gulf News.

The couple has often travelled to Dubai to promote their projects, theatre or poetry readings that have seen a full house.

Azmi and Akhtar aren’t the only stars to receive the UAE golden visa honour.

Recently, actress Bhagyashree was in Dubai to receive the 10-year visa.

In the past, several stars from Bollywood and South India including Sanjay Dutt and Mammootty had jetted down to Dubai to receive their UAE golden visas.