Actor-couple Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal welcomed their first child, a daughter, last month. Soon after, the newborn’s khaalas and maasis, actors Shabana Azmi, Urmila Matondkar, Tanvi Azmi and Dia Mirza, paid her a visit. Talking about it, Shabana says, “We are all part of a group called Dher Saara Pyaar. On that day, (actors) Sandhya Mridul, Konkona Sensharma and Vidya Balan were missing, as they weren’t in town. We wanted to have a baby shower for Richa, but that couldn’t happen. So, this was just a visit to see the child. This group is like a family. The joys that you get with family is what you get in this group.”
The veteran actor reveals that her husband, writer-poet Javed Akhtar, even suggested a “fiery” name for the newborn. “Javed suggested they named her Jwala Ali. When I asked him why, he said Richa herself is such a fire brand, her daughter should have an equivalent name. But they have given her a beautiful name already,” she shares, adding, “Ali is very supportive of Richa and quite besotted with his daughter. I don’t think he can see anything beyond her at the moment.”
Even Shabana is in awe of the little munchkin and shares how Chadha is as a mother. “The child was sleeping the whole time, looking like an angel. I remarked: ‘Kitni shareef si lag rahi hai’, to which Richa said, ‘Yeh subah jitni shareef lagti hai na, she gets up in the middle of the night with these eyes, screaming her lungs out. So, neither Ali nor I can get a moment’s sleep’,” she shares, reflecting on the joy of being new parents.
Shabana gets her sixth doctorate
Recently, the 73-year-old was honoured with her sixth doctorate by the Techno India University in West Bengal. “For me, it is an honour, but the recipients of this convocation were people of immense achievements. Just to be counted among them was humbling,” says the actor. The other awardees included former tennis player Leander Paes, musician Shankar Mahadevan and writer-poet Gulzar.
Having won so many awards over the years, what do such honours mean to her? “It’s not like I am indifferent to honours, like it’s just one more. Of course, there is a joy that your work is being validated by the world. But every honour comes with a sense of responsibility, which is very important to recognise. It gives you a sense of appreciation for your work, which is very important for any artiste.”
