CHANGE THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN FILMS & TELEVISION – SHABANA AZMI

Noted film star, social activist and currently member of parliament Shabana Azmi urged the film and television producers to create gender equality through their work with a view to granting the women a place of pride in the society. She was delivering the valedictory address to the students of Asian Academy of Film & Television. Shabana Azmi has acted in more than sixty film so far. Besides two international awards,five national awards have been bestowed upon her for brilliant performance in feature films ‘Ankur’, ‘Earth’, ‘Khandhar’, ‘Paar’ & ‘God Mother’. She advised the outgoing students to take interest in all art forms and to minutely observe the life around them for doing their work. Conceding that it is debatable whether film making & television presentation can be taught at all, she said that she for one, is all for systematic training. However she added that learning process is never-ending and a lifelong one. Speaking on this occasion, well known lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar too emphasised the importance of training for film making and television presentation. Son of Jaan Nisar Akhtar, Javed Saheb had written the script for blockbusters like ‘Sholay’, ‘Deewar’ and ‘Janzeer’ etc. The coveted film fare award had been bestowed upon him on ten occasions – seven for the best the script and three for best lyrics. Javed Akhtar concluded his address by advising the students to always strive for excellence and try to come upto the expectation of the millions of viewers. Welcoming the distinguished guests Director of AAFT Prof. Sandeep Marwah presented the ‘Academy Award’ to the celebrity couple. Tanvi Azmi the wife of cinematographer Baba Azmi, also accompanied the celebrity couple.