Quotes from Shabana Azmi

India is a country that lives in several centuries simultaneously, and her people at any given time and place encapsulate all the contradictions that come from being a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual society.

It's only in India that you can have six couples going together on a honeymoon. I don't think it happens anywhere else in the world.

Not belonging to any political party actually helps me because I value my independent voice above everything else, I treasure it.

Why is a woman always judged only on the basis of her relationship with her family members and the time she gives them, and not on the basis of her success at work?

Im hoping that for film actors there is this kind of emotional trigger on any subject. It need not be only slums. It can be anything. But even if it is tentative, sooner or later, it will - by its sheer force - engulf you in a way where you make a commitment and you get involved in it, beyond just making it an image-building exercise.

Whenever I was troubled and confused, I always depended upon my father to give me an objective perspective.

I grew up in a family that believed that art should be used as an instrument for social change.

If you stay cocooned in your own safety net, you cannot grow as an actor. You need to be socially engaged and invested to hone your skills.

I think men and women are different - I am not saying better or worse, just different.

I absolutely loved working with Mahesh Bhatt. He and I were so much in tune that he would just press a button and I would start.

We need role models in our society that the youth can look up to because that space is shrinking.

What I value is that I have been able to do some modest work to help women rise to the level of their potential.

It seems kosher and OK to treat women as objects because the business of cinema is about images and when you have fragmented images of a woman's bosom and her swiveling hip and her twisting navel, it robs the woman of all autonomy and subjects her to the male gaze.

We never had money but it was never a problem. The spirit of comradeship, the commitment to gender equality, social justice and a celebration of pluralism and India's composite culture provided the glue that kept us joyous and closely bonded.

The position that Indian Muslims have is unique because we exist in a democracy, which is something that cannot be said about many Muslims living in the world.

Women's health is not a niche issue - it impacts everyone in some way. That is why a collective effort to improve awareness and understanding of menstrual hygiene is key to closing the gender health gap.

I think there is not enough understanding of the fact that in a democracy how you treat the security of the minority must be a very important part for the success of a democracy.

Unfortunately, the Hindi film industry is a sitting duck; it is easy to hurl malevolent accusations. It is a systematic campaign to divert attention from real issues, failing economy, China border tensions, spiraling Covid cases, and farmers' agitation by putting the spotlight on the supposed ills of the film industry.

Until the age of 19, I lived in the Communist Party commune where eight families lived in 180 to 200 square feet of space. In that world, social justice was a given. We grew up valuing that.

I've embraced life at all stages.

It is always necessary that we point out our flaws for the betterment of our country. If we do not, how can our conditions improve? But the atmosphere is such that if we criticize the government we are branded as anti-nationals.

A fatwa is not a diktat, it's not binding. To turn the utterance of a non-entity into a fatwa and then talk about it endlessly really gets on my nerves.

Growing up, I was so sick of politics - it was in the house all the time - I was proud of not reading the newspaper.

I've no problem with dying my hair for a role. But in real life, forget it!