Mumbai: Actor Shabana Azmi was injured in an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra’s Raigad district Saturday, the police said.
The private hospital in Mumbai where she was shifted said her condition was stable. Her husband and lyricist Javed Akhtar, who was travelling with her, escaped unhurt. The driver of the car sustained minor injuries, Raigad police said.
Azmi (69) was first rushed to MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai and later shifted to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Andheri in Mumbai.
“She is stable and under observation,” said Dr Santosh Shetty, Executive Director and CEO of Ambani hospital in a statement late in the evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those who expressed concern about the actor after the news came. “The news of @AzmiShabana Ji’s injury in an accident is distressing. I pray for her quick recovery,” Modi tweeted.
The incident took place near Khalapur, over 60 km from Mumbai, when the Tata Safari car in which Azmi and Akhtar were travelling to Pune rammed into a truck, said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar.
Akhtar celebrated his 75th birthday Friday. A local police official said the car driver was apparently trying to overtake another vehicle and rammed into the truck.
“Shabana Azmi injured in road accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway OMG! Praying so hard,” actor Swara Bhaskar reacted on Twitter.
After some TV channels showed an injured Azmi being carried out of her car, actor Varun Dhawan requested the media not to broadcast or publish such images. “To all my dear friends in the media if someone has met with an accident please do not splash their pictures all over it can be extremely distressing to their family and loved ones. This is just a humble request thank you,” he wrote on twitter.
Actor Shraddha Kapoor made a similar appeal. “Please have some empathy and sensitivity and think how distressing this can be to their family members and loved ones. Please take it down immediately. Thank you,” she tweeted.
“I pray for the speedy recovery of @AzmiShabana ji,” actor Retiesh Deshmukh tweeted.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said, “The Mumbai-Pune expressway has always been dangerous and there is little or no monitoring to prevent rash driving. Have seen so many terrible accidents there. Hope #ShabanaAzmi is fine.”
“Dear @OfficeofUT please improve safety on this route urgently. It is quite a death trap,” the director said, tagging Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Azmi is known for her path-breaking roles in films such as Arth, Ankur, Paar, Masoom and Godmother. She has won several national and international awards including Padma Bhushan.
PTI