I embrace my age, says Shabana Azmi after 60th birthday

"I embrace the 60 years of my life with profound satisfaction and happiness. There have been ups and downs but I have no regrets. One needs to embrace the bad along with the good and take it as it comes," Shabana said on the sidelines of an award function here.

Brooke Bond Taj Mahal in association with the Enlighten Film Society conferred the 'Taj Enlighten Tareef Award' on the National Award winning actress today for her outstanding contribution to cinema.

Azmi who is married to lyricist Javed Akhtar, feels that the new lot of actresses should take up roles that suit their age, instead of trying to be forever young on screen.

"I feel that the actresses in the industry instead of doing roles where they need to look ten years younger, should start playing mothers on screen. They need to transition into characters that they can play seamlessly," Azmi said.

The daughter of poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi, the actress began her showbiz career with the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune in 1973.

After completing her graduate degree in Psychology from St Xavier's College, Azmi had taken up a course in acting and considers her stint at FTII a milestone in her career.
"When I decided to join the film institute, I feel that was the milestone as it shaped my future. Then it is about being at the right place at the right time."

On her future plans, Shabana said, "I have just finished some shows of my play 'Broken Images'. I am going to open a new play called 'Seven'. Then there is another play 'Kaifi Aur Main' for the Delhi government as a run up to the Commonwealth Games."