Shabana Azmi: The Powerhouse Of Acting In Bollywood

Because of her social activism, she was part of the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2003.

Here are some of her roles she portrayed her real-life acting skills.

1. Pooja Malhotra in Arth: This is something worth mentioning, the actress showed a strong portrayal of a woman who decides to leave her husband after she finds out that he has been cheating on her the whole time. The intense confrontation between her and her husband’s girlfriend was one of the highlights in the film.

2. Indu in Masoom: Another hard-hitting film which revolved around a serious subject of infidelity and extra-marital affairs. The actress played the role of a homemaker whose life is shattered when she finds out that her husband had a son from an illegitimate relationship and he is made to stay in their home. The ending brought a lot of tears to most of us when we watched this iconic flick.

3. Radha in Fire: This film made her internationally famous with the portrayal of a housewife who is neglected by her husband and ends up having a sexual relationship with another woman who undergoes the same plight. The role won her best actress award at a film festival held in Chicago.

4. Rambhi in Godmother: The film revolved around a widow who becomes a dreaded gangster in a small town based in Gujarat after her husband gets killed by corrupt ministers. Her acting was quite similar to Marlon Brando in The Godfather. The role fetched her a national award for best acting.

5. Makdee in Makdee: The film happened to be the debut film of Vishal Bhardwaj when it released in 2002. She played a negative role in this film, the film revolved around a dreaded witch who lives in an abandoned house in a small village and turns anyone into an animal when that particular person enters that house. The main highlight of this film was the suspense which just freaked me out when I saw the climax. This one surely scared the hell out of us when we were kids.

6. Abhilasha Grewal in 24 Series: The Indian adaptation of a popular American espionage series of the same name had Shabana playing the role of a cold-hearted, ruthless senior member of RAW (Research & Analysis Wing) who takes over the ATU (Anti-Terrorist Unit) when Jai Singh Rathod (Anil Kapoor) goes rogue. This was quite a surprise package in the show. Despite the hostility between her and Jai, she decides to offer a helping hand in carrying on forward with the situation of thwarting an assassination threat.

7. Rama Bhanot in Neerja: This is something which was very heart touching. The film was based on a real-life incident of an air hostess Neerja Bhanot who was on a plane which was hijacked by terrorists while stopping in Karachi, Pakistan. She played the role of Neerja’s mother who becomes paranoid after hearing the news about the hijack from her husband. The speech made by her in the ending brought tears to my eyes. She had won an award for her portrayal of the mother.

 Will Bollywood have another actress like her who can pull off intense roles like this?