Besides being one of the finest and most accomplished Indian actors, Shabana Azmi is also a member of a khandan that has made significant contributions to the country's artistic landscape. While her father, Kaifi Azmi, was a legendary Urdu poet, her mother, Shaukat Kaifi, was a renowned theatre and film actor. Growing up in a politically charged environment, influenced by her parents' staunch advocacy of communism, played a key role in shaping her character. Recently, her husband, screenwriter and poet Javed Akhtar, shared an interesting anecdote about her father and the household where Shabana was raised. During a session organised by Metaphor Litfest, Javed said, "Their house was weird. In the city of Mumbai, almost all houses have magic eyes on their doors through which one peeps to see who has rung the bell or knocked. They will open the door only after that. They (Shabana's family) lived in a cottage, and the structure is still there today. The main gate to their home can't be locked; it remains open all the time. Even the doors were always open (back then), and anyone could walk into their home at any time. Kaifi saab used to say, 'The gates to my home will never be shut.' People used to visit the place often, and darbars kept happening throughout the day." Mentioning that legendary Bollywood actor and Shabana's close friend Rekha once visited the house, Javed said that she left the place after making a point about why leaving doors open might not be the best idea. "When Rekha arrived, there was no one at home, but the doors were unlocked. She walked in and took a look around. There, she spotted a cassette player, and she left the place with it. Just to prove the point, she phoned Shabana later and said, 'I had gone to your house. There was no one inside, though all the doors were open. So, I left with your cassette player.' There was no other house like that in the city of Mumbai." Rekha and Shabana Azmi have worked together in movies such as Ek Hi Bhool (1981) and Raaste Pyar Ke (1982).
