Shabana Azmi Felicitated By Malaysia’s PM

Shabana Azmi and  Javed Akhtar were to fly to Kuala Lampur on  Wednesday to be felicitated  by the Prime  Minister  of Malaysia Najib Razak as Asia’s power couple for exemplary contribution  to the field of art and  entertainment.

However  Shabana landed  in Kuala Lampur solo.

“Javed  is down with a viral  fever. So I had to make it here on my own,” Shabana explained after receiving the award on behalf of  the couple.

No stranger to  global honour and  recognition, Shabana describes  the Malaysian experience  as  unforgettable. “The  ceremony  where the Malaysian PM  gave me the award  on behalf  of Javed and I was memorable. But even better  was the  closed-door dinner with the Malaysian PM . It  was attended  by only eight  people.”

Shabana and  the Malaysian  PM exchanged notes on Bollywood. She was thrilled to know he was aware that her son Farhan Akhtar’s Don was shot  in Langkawi in Malaysia.

Otherwise Najib Razak has seen only two Hindi  films .

Guess which ones?

“Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Rajamouli’s Baahubali. That’s all.No, he hadn’t seen any of  my films,not even Arth . Never  mind.He was articulate, well-read and  very  interesting ,” Shabana laughed as she  flew out of Kuala Lampur to Sydney for  the  7th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards where  she is part of jury headed by Russell Crowe.

In fact Crowe and Azmi have become friends over  the months leading to the Awards.