Shabana Azmi is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated actresses in the industry, known for her versatile choices and bold approach to acting. She has also made headlines for her personal life, particularly her marriage to renowned writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar in 1984. There was a time when Shabana compared herself to Rekha and felt jealous of her bond with filmmaker Mira Nair.
However, she once had a minor conflict with acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair over a small role she was offered. In 2012, Shabana appeared in a brief role in Mira’s film The Reluctant Fundamentalist. The ‘Masoom’ actress had hoped for a more significant part, as she admired Mira’s works, including Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, starring Rekha.

During an old discussion at the New York Indian Film Festival, Shabana playfully remarked that Rekha always seemed to be Mira’s first choice. “And finally, she gives me a tiny role that doesn’t do justice to our relationship or her faith in me, and that woman is sitting next to me.”In response, Mira recalled following Shabana to her hotel room after their conversation. “What does Rekha have that I don’t have? Humari pyaar ki ladayi hui in that ladies’ room,” Mira added, sharing how she had compared herself to the ‘Utsav’ actress.
On the work front, Shabana was recently seen in the OTT series ‘Dabba Cartel‘, alongside Nimisha Sajayan, Sai Tamhankar, Shalini Pandey, Anjali Anand, and Gajraj Rao. Rekha and Shabana were seen warmly embracing each other at a recent screening event for ‘Dabba Cartel’.