Mumbai: Veteran actor and Shabana Azmi’s mother Shaukat Kaifi passed away in Mumbai on Friday evening due to age-related illness at the age of 93. Kaifi’s son-in-law, veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, confirmed the news of death of the theatre and film actor.
The news was confirmed by Kaifi’s son-in-law, veteran writer-lyricist, Javed Akhtar. He was cited in various publications saying, “She was 93 and she was having one problem after another. She was admitted to Kokikaben Dhirubai Ambani hospital, for certain days she was in the ICU and then she was out of ICU. It was all age related.”
He added, “Ultimately they brought her home. She wanted to come back to her own room she stayed for a day or two and then passed away. Shabana is in Mumbai.”
Kaifi was married to late Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi and had two children with him – Shabana and Baba. From ‘Umraao Jaan’ to Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated film ‘Salaam Bombay!’, the renowned late actor has starred in a number of movies and was last seen in Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji starrer ‘Saathiya’, which released in 2002.
Shaukat and her husband were the prominent personalities of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and the Progressive Writers Association (IWA), which were the cultural platforms of the Communist Party of India. Shaukat Azmi’s husband died in 2002. She is survived by actress daughter Shabana and cinematographer son Baba Azmi.
After Kaifi Azmi’s death, Shaukat wrote an autobiography – Kaifi And I, which has also been adapted to a play Kaifi Aur Main. The play premiered on the fourth death anniversary of Kaifi Azmi in Mumbai in 2006.
Her last rites are scheduled to take place today in Mumbai.
