A seedling (ankur) is 40 years

He inherited his literary talent from his father, Jan Nissar Akhtar and
his uncles, but it was  his scripting partnership with Salim Khan that
created waves at the box office and made him a star. The wit and
sensitivity of his poems have carved him an important niche in the
nation’s literary annals. Married to one of Bollywood’s biggest
actresses, a star scriptwriter in his own right, he remains an intensely
private person.

Shabana Azmi reveals the hidden side of her husband and soulmate: Javed Akhtar.

Firstpost: You are articulate, expressive about what
you believe in, while he is quieter, more involved in his own world. Are
you opposites in terms of temperament?
Shabana Azmi: On the contrary, I cannot think of anyone who is closer to me, and more similar than Javed. He is my soulmate.

What makes your relationship so perfect?
Look at the similarities in our backgrounds. In discovering Javed I
rediscovered my father. Both are from UP, both poets, film lyricists,
writers. Both love politics… In fact if you consider the fact that one
seeks the perfect match of backgrounds for an arranged marriage, then
this could well have been the perfect arranged marriage.

Then in the ‘80s, I sat in on conversations my father had with him on
poetry, on politics, and I realised he was very different from his
image.

How did you become close?
He saw Sparsh, he really liked the movie. He told Sai (Paranjpe,
director) that he really liked the film. There was a little party at
Sai’s and he was invited too. We met there. He spoke of the film in such
detail that I was amazed. That was the start of serious complex
conversations.

But the fact remained that he was a married man…
Yes, we realised that. We stayed away from each other for as long as was
possible. My mother was against it completely. When I told my father, I
asked him, “Is he wrong for me?” And he said, “He is not wrong, but the
circumstances are wrong.”

When I asked him, “What if I change the circumstances,?” he said, “Then it should be okay.”

It could not have been easy.
Nobody can understand the anguish, the heartbreak… There were children involved.
For 2 to 3 years, we suffered the trauma. And then one day, we decided
to break up. It was too traumatic for the children if we went on. We
told each other, “We will break up after one last meeting.” We met for that last meeting and we talked and talked… not love talk
alone, but about everything, politics, poetry. We got so busy talking ,
we forgot to break up.

What was especially endearing?
The fact that he is so much like my father. For any ordinary man, my
father is a tough act to follow, especially knowing how much I
hero-worshipped my father.

Did you never dream of children of your own?
Of course we did, I did. For medical reasons, I could not have a child.
It hurt a lot, and I was heartbroken for a while. Then I told myself,
“One can’t have everything in life.”

How did you make the niche that you have for yourself as an actor in a formula-driven industry?
I have an unconventional face for a Hindi film heroine. I remember BR
Chopra suggesting that I should do only vamps roles and Tarachand
Barjatya saying that I look “lower class” and so should restrict myself
to playing a maid etc. It’s another matter that later both of them cast
me in roles that were far removed from the moulds they had suggested! I
am amazed at the success I got in mainstream Hindi cinema and often
think those films (like Fakira, Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony etc) were
successful in spite of me, not because of me.

Would you say success in show business is, as they say, “luck by chance”?
I attribute my success to being at the right place at the right time in
large measure. But I also do not take my work for granted and continue
to get butterflies in my stomach before embarking on a new film or a new
play.I’ve imbibed a lot from my mother about how to prepare for a part.
Days before [a new shoot], I start dressing up like a witch, a slum
dweller, a mafia don, depending on what I’m playing and move around the
house trying to inhabit the part.

Filmmaking is a collaborative effort. Actors get the maximum acclaim
because they face the camera. The truth, however, is that an actor is
successful because a whole team of technicians behind the scenes are
working to camouflage the weaknesses and enhance the strengths of the
actor. The film set is a training ground for relationships – you
negotiate your way through different people, from your co-star to the
light boy and the junior artists. It’s up to you whether you isolate
yourself and choose the ivory tower or you learn from all those you work
with. It’s so easy for a celebrity to be liked – a kind word, a genuine
smile and you spread good cheer.

Looking back, which do you feel were the major turning points in your life?
Ankur, because it ushered in the parallel cinema movement. Arth, because
it started my involvement with the women’s rights movement. Madame
Sousatzka with Shirley MacLaine; that led to my working in 10 films in
the West. My five-day hunger strike along with Anand Patwardhan for the
slumdwellers of Cuffe Parade. Today, we at Nivara Hakk have built
tenements for 50,000 slum dwellers at Chandivli as a result of a
tripartite agreement with the government of Maharashtra, a private
builder and us. My nomination to the Rajya Sabha by the President of
India has also been a great learning experience. I was a very active
member.

The single-most influential film of your life?
Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth remains a milestone. I continue to meet women who
say that it was a transformative experience for them and gave them
tremendous strength.