Shabana Azmi received the Excellence in Entertainment Award at Shiv Shakti Awards 2025, presented during the We Women Want Conclave held on August 7, 2025, in the national capital.
When asked about the award, Shabana Azmi stated, “You know, it’s a tall thing to say excellence in entertainment because if it means over a long career, which is 50 years in my case, obviously it’s not only for a particular performance, for a body of work, and I value it very much.”
Shabana Azmi: Art should be used as an instrument for social change
When asked where she derives her inner Shakti from? Shabana Azmi at the event revealed, “The values that were imbued in me by my parents, who believed art should be used as an instrument for social change. Those are the values that always hold me instead when I’m feeling weak or I’m feeling, you know, things. I have let go of control. I think it is impossible for any human being to be constantly in control.”
The actress continued, “And, I think the letting go of control and the experience of uncertainty also, in a sens,e helps the creative process because you’re no longer so sure about the answers. But in terms of the roles, in terms of, you know, because you are a very strong, feisty lady, even in terms of your beliefs, in terms of your work outside the films also.”
An engaging session with legendary actor Shabana Azmi (@AzmiShabana) at the @Wewomenwantoffc Conclave, hosted by Uday Pratap Singh (@UdayPratapSingh), Senior Editor, and Priya Sahgal (@Priyascorner), Editorial Director of NewsX. She reflects on her extraordinary journey, iconic… pic.twitter.com/S4h2FoxmnI
— NewsX World (@NewsX) August 7, 2025
Shabana Azmi: Women’s roles are changing mercifully now
When asked if she wouldn’t play a certain kind of role, since people often identify with or there are just some actions, some dialogues, some things that you will not want to do, Shabana Azmi stated, “Yes, of course. There are so many films, particularly in the past. And if I feel that the film in any way is suggesting that a woman has a secondary role, and she should accept the stereotypes that have been given for a long time.”
She continued, “And they’re changing mercifully now. Then, yes, very clearly, that’s something that would not attract me. And I have made choices because it’s just something that’s so against my very being. I am the daughter of a poet who, more than 75 years ago, wrote a poem called Aurat. So that’s the least that I can do. Honour that legacy.”
Shabana Azmi: Art can create a climate of sensitivity
When asked about whether cinema can make an impact, Shabana Azmi at the event said, “I think all art has the ability to create a climate of sensitivity in which it is possible for change to occur. To say directly that you’ve seen Gandhi ji’s film and from tomorrow you’ll start behaving exactly like Gandhi ji, that’s not the truth. But your soil becomes wet.
And when your soil becomes wet, the seed will sprout. That era and today’s era, for heroines, have you seen the kind of roles change, the approach of filmmakers as well change towards their leading ladies, as opposed to just their leading men? We’ve come a very long way. I mean, we came from a time when ‘main chup rahungi’ was considered a virtue for a woman.”
Shabana also said, “And then we went through a spate where we hadn’t quite decided who this woman should be. So she just became, first we had Rambos and she became Rambalina. You know, so she was just doing the same thing. None of the complexity of what it was to be a woman ever got reflected. It was left to the parallel cinema to start exploring the woman in all her contradictions and not painting her as either Madonna or whore. That time, I think, has passed.”
‘Feisty girls are no longer interested in only hanging around the man’
Shabana Azmi at the We Women Want 2025 said, “I mean, there are still things that go back to it. But I think what has happened is we also have very young, very feisty, very educated girls who are no longer interested in only hanging around the man and playing his appendage. So that change, for me, I have always believed that for something to change dramatically in the consciousness of an audience, it has to be within the mainstream.”
She added, “Kyunki aap parallel cinema to karte raho gaye, toh you’re preaching to the already converted. Toh agar Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani mein, agar aap dekhte hain Alia Bhatt ka jo role hai and what a person she is in her right and all within the template of the mainstream cinema. So you have the songs, you have the dances, you entertain, you do everything, but you also carry a very strong social message.
I think that’s the way films can truly make an impact. Nothing which is preaching, nothing that you shout from the rooftops, is going to create that. You have to be moved.
And if you want to do propaganda, toh phir aap pamphlets laga dijiye na. Aap jaa ke morche nikaliye. Aap film kyun bana rahe hain? Film toh ek medium hai and unless you can justify the medium in which your message is being coached, how can you claim yourself to be a filmmaker?
Shabana Azmi spills the beans on Masoom 2
Revealing about Masoom 2, Shabana Azmi told NewsX, “The film is called Masoom Second Generation by Shekhar Kapoor. It’s got Naseeruddin Shah, me, Manoj Vajpayee, and Shekhar Kapoor’s daughter, Kaveri Kapoor. It’s not a direct, an extension of Masoom. It’s not about Jugal Hansraj growing up and having an extramarital affair. Okay? That’s not what you should expect from it. But the emotion that it created and the family and the way it responded to. So it’s also juxtaposed with what is family, what identity is, and how the city that is changing is affecting us without even realising. Very interesting.”
Shabana Azmi recalls the common love for Samosa that Nelson Mandela shared
During the rapid-fire round, Shabana Azmi revealed Bhel puri and samosa were her favourite cuisines. The actress stated, “There was a time when I was having it every single day at 5 o’clock because that’s the time the best samosa in Juhu where I live used to be made. And then now I have held back on it.”
She also stated, “But in my dreams, it’s not kebab, it’s not biryani, it’s that samosa. And I’ll tell you something very nice. The first time I met Nelson Mandela, we were sitting at the dining table, and he said, “Can you pass me the samosa?” I said, “Do you also like samosa?” Yay! Both of us said, both of us like samosa.”
About We Women Want Conclave
The event aims to celebrate the strength and achievements of women and also talk about the many issues they face in everyday life. Big names like politician Shashi Tharoor, actress Dia Mirza, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Ekta Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, and Sunny Leone are expected to attend.
We Women Want is also a weekly show on NewsX that focuses on real issues that matter to women. It talks about topics like domestic violence, IVF, breast cancer, relationships, single parenting, workplace problems, and more. The show not only highlights winners but also gives space to those who are struggling.
Many times, experts such as lawyers, doctors, and activists come on the show to help women find support and answers. Over time, it has become more than just a talk show, it’s become a platform where women can speak, be heard, and get help when needed.
Watch the full session here:
ALSO READ: We Women Want And Shakti Awards 2025: Dia Mirza Calls For A Plastic-Free Planet
