Javed Akhtar says he’s “proud” of wife Shabana Azmi for being one of the very few Bollywood celebrities who participated in the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests in New Delhi last month. While a few others extended their support online, the veteran actor was at Jantar Mantar, walking side by side with students protesting against the leak of National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) papers.

Javed Akhtar on Shabana Azmi’s activism

“This isn’t the first time she’s done this. She’s aged now, so does it less now,” said Akhtar, laughing, on a recent podcast. After Delhi Police hurled tear bombs on the protesters on July 20, Shabana even suffered an asthma attack. Soon after, she was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, which prevented her from attending the student protests in Mumbai a couple of days later.

“I’ve gone to the police station to bail her out. She’s gone for a hunger strike in Mumbai. She’s been quite active,” Akhtar said on Lets Talk With DevnaG. “When our relationship was developing, this is what she was involved in,” he added. The two began dating in the late 1970s after Javed met Shabana at the Mumbai home of his family friend and fellow legendary poet Kaifi Azmi, her father.

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‘Old Shabana has woken up’

“She called me when I was in London to tell me she’s going to Delhi for the protests. When she told me, I knew she would. It’s the call of the conscience. Not once I told her to not go or think twice. The moment she told me I cannot not go, I knew the old Shabana had woken up, and nobody can stop her. And good she did! I’m proud of her,” said Akhtar.

Over the past few decades, Shabana has often raised voice against a wide range of issues. These included the 1993 protests at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai, when she sat with slum dwellers to protest against demolition of their homes. Mumbai Police arrested her and 16 others, and she even refused to seek bail or accept the charges against her.

So much so that her mother and veteran actor Shaukat Kafi had to convince the cops to escort Shabana to Tata Theatre for her performance in the popular play Tumhari Amrita during her jailtime. Shabana famously made it to the stage in the very dusty clothes she was detained in. Eventually, Javed Akhtar had to bail out his wife.

“It’s not like we don’t feel scared. We feel scared most of the times. But in some moments, you’ve to get over the fear and have to call a spade a spade. Otherwise you won’t be able to look into the mirror. If I don’t, I have no loyalty with either my zameen, zamana or zameer (land, time, and conscience). I don’t do it much, but when your conscience is pushed against the wall, you have to do it,” added Akhtar, echoing Shabana’s vocal approach to injustice.

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When Shabana showed up at the CJP protests last month, she revealed that she and Akhtar first wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to discuss the issue with the protesting students. But after acknowledgement of receipt, once they didn’t get a response for the next three days, Shabana chose to participate in the protests herself.