The 93-year-old actor, who was last seen in Saathiya, had been unwell for a while due to age-related illnesses. She is survived by her children — actor Shabana Azmi and cinematographer Baba Azmi.
The thespian was married to renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi who passed away in the year 2002. Shaukat had also penned a memoir titled Kaifi and I.
Kaifi’s son-in-law, veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, confirmed the news of the death of the theatre and film actor. “She was 93 and was having one problem after another. She was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. For certain days she was in the ICU and then she was out of ICU. It was all age related,” he said.
“Ultimately they brought her home. She wanted to come back to her own room where she stayed for a day or two and then passed away. Shabana is in Mumbai,” Akhtar, who is in the US, told PTI.
Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan (1981) and Sagar Sarhadi’s Bazaar (1982) are some of Shaukat’s most noted films. However, her first major appearance was in MS Sathyu’s Garm Hava in 1974. Her last film was Shaadi Ali’s Saathiya.
The burial will take place on Saturday at around 3 pm.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Prasanta Patnaik