This National Award-winning actress sold coffee at petrol station for Rs 30 per day, tried to take her life twice

Many Bollywood and South actors and actresses used to do odd jobs before they entered the acting industry and made a mark on the audience's hearts. One such actress, who used to be one of the top actresses in Bollywood, used to sell coffee at a petrol station and earned Rs 30 per day. Later when she made her acting debut, she won her first National Award for her performance. 

The actress who won several hearts with her beauty and performance in the movies in the 70s and 80s and holds the record for winning the most numbers of National Awards is none other than Shabana Azmi. 

Born in Hyderabad, Shabana Azmi is the daughter of popular poet Kaifi Azmi and actress Shaukat Azmi. Azmi attended Queen Mary School, in Mumbai. She completed a graduate degree in Psychology from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and followed it with a course in acting at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. 

Shabana Azmi tried to take her life twice

Shabana Azmi’s mother Shaukat Azmi who died in 2019, wrote in her autobiography in 2005, about how Shabana thought she loved her brother Baba Azmi more and tried to take her life. 

Shaukat Azmi wrote, “Shabana thought I loved Baba (Shabana's younger brother) more than her. One morning I was having breakfast with Shabana and Baba. I picked up a toast from Shabana's plate and said, "Daughter, Baba's bus will come soon, so I am giving him your toast." You have time now. I sent Alice (servant) to get some bread and Shabana quietly left the breakfast table. When Alice returned, I called Shabana saying, "Daughter, come, your toast is ready." I heard her crying from the bathroom and ran there. She saw me and quickly wiped her tears and went to school."

That’s why Shabana Azmi had once consumed copper sulphate in the lab and her life was saved by her friend. Shabana also tried to take her life by coming in front of the train after her mother scolded her for her rude behaviour but was saved by the school’s watchman. 

Shabana Azmi sold coffee at a petrol station

Shabana Azmi’s mother Shaukat Azmi also wrote her autobiography Kaif and I: A Memoir, about how the actress used to sell coffee at petrol stations for which she used to get Rs 30 per day. Despite being from a well-to-do family, the actress wanted to help her family financially. During her college time, she used to sell coffee for 3 months. 

Shabana Azmi debut 

Shabana Azmi was inspired by Jaya Bhaduri to join acting. The actress once said in an interview, “I had the privilege of watching Jaya Bhaduri in a (Diploma) film, Suman, and I was completely enchanted by her performance because it was unlike the other performances I had seen. I really marveled at that and said, 'My god, if by going to the Film Institute I can achieve that, that's what I want to do.” 

Azmi graduated from the FTII in 1973 and signed on to Khwaja Ahmad Abbas' Faasla and began work on Kanti Lal Rathod's Parinay as well. Her first release, however, was Shyam Benegal's directorial debut Ankur in 1974. The actress played the role of a servant in the movie and went on to win National Award for Best Actress for her performance. 

The actress then went on to receive the National Film Award for Best Actress consecutively for three years from 1983 to 1985 for her roles in Arth, Khandhar, and Paar. Godmother (1999) earned her a record-setting fifth National Film Award. Not only this, the actress is also the recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. 

The actress has impressed audiences with her performances time and again and even recently, she stole the limelight in Karan Johar’s directorial comeback film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. The film also starred Ranveer Singh, Dharmendra, and Alia Bhatt along with others, and went on to be a big hit collecting over Rs 300 crore worldwide.

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