Shaukat Kaifi (21 October 1926 – 22 November 2019),
also credited as Shaukat Azmi, was an Indian theater and film actress. Her husband was the Urdu poet and film lyricist,
Kaifi Azmi. The couple were leading lights of the
Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and the
Progressive Writers Association (IWA), which were the cultural platforms of the
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
.
Biography
Shaukat Kaifi was born into a
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
migrant family in
Hyderabad State. She grew up in
Aurangabad, India. At a young age, she fell in love and married the
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
poet
Kaifi Azmi. They had two children. Their son,
Baba Azmi, is a cameraman and now film director. He is married to
Tanvi Azmi, the daughter of
Usha Kiran, a famous actress. Shaukat and Kaifi's daughter,
Shabana Azmi (b. 1950), is among the best actresses of Indian cinema. She is married to noted poet and film lyricist
Javed Akhtar.
Shaukat and Kaifi, who settled in Mumbai after their wedding, endured many ups and downs in life. Kaifi was a committed member of the Communist Party, so much so that, upon his request, his party membership card was buried with him when he died.
He worked hard for the
Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and the
Progressive Writers Association (PWA), and for many years after their wedding, his income was the meagre stipend from the Party. For many years, the couple lived with their two children in Commune accommodation provided by the
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
, which was one bedroom in an apartment shared with three other families. Since all the other families were also communists and involved with theatre or cinema, Shaukat was also bitten by the bug of theatre. Money was another incentive for her to act, and money was short for the couple after their two children began going to school.
In the mid-1950s, Kaifi began looking for work in the Mumbai film industry as a writer and lyricist. He struggled for a considerable period, writing memorable songs for films that however flopped. Kaifi then found success as a songwriter and the family fortunes took an upward turn. Within a few years, they were able to purchase an apartment in the posh Mumbai neighbourhood of
Juhu. Her husband's association with the film industry helped Shaukat to take on roles in films too.
She appeared in about a dozen films, with significant roles in major productions like (''
Garam Hawa'' and ''
Umrao Jaan''). In theatre, she appeared in a dozen plays. All this she could successfully do along with her domestic duties.
After Kaifi Azmi died in 2002, Shaukat Azmi wrote an autobiography, ''Kaifi and I'' which has been adapted into an Urdu play ''Kaifi aur Main'' featuring Shabana as her mother. It premiered in Mumbai in 2006 on the 4th death anniversary of
Kaifi Azmi.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaifi, Shaukat
2019 deaths
Shaukat Kaifi
Actresses from Hyderabad, India
Indian film actresses
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Indian stage actresses
Indian women activists
20th-century Indian actresses
Activists from Andhra Pradesh
1926 births