Cast

Shabana Azmi has acted in over 100 films. She won the National Award for Best Actress for her debut film 'Ankur' in 1974. Following that, she went on to win three more National Awards in a row for 'Arth' in 1983, 'Khandhar' in 1984, and 'Paar' in 1985. In 1999, she won the National Award for 'Godmother' thus becoming the only actor/actress to win five National Awards. She has also won every single award for acting in India, in many instances, more than thrice, such as the Filmfare award, B.F.J.A., etc.

Shabana has won the International Award for Best Actress - for Gulzar's 'Libaas' in North Korea 1993, at the Taormina Arte Festival in Italy for Goutam Ghose's 'Patang' in 1994, Chicago International Film Festival and Los Angeles Outfest for Deepa Mehta's 'Fire' in 1996, and Reel World Toronto Film Festival's Award for Excellence 2005 for 'Morning Raga.'

She has had retrospectives of her films at the prestigious George Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Smithsonian Institution and the American Film Institute in Washington, Pacific Cinematheque and Winnipeg Cinematheque. She is the only Asian actor ever to be honored with a retrospective of her films at the Lincoln Centre at the 40th New York Film Festival.

Shabana has won international acclaim in John Schlesinger's 'Madame Sousatzka' co-starring John Hurt and Hugh Grant and Roland Joffe's 'City of Joy,' co-starring Patrick Swayze. Other films include Channel 4's 'Immaculate Conception,' opposite James Wilby in 'The Son of Pink Panther' by Blake Edward and Ismail Merchant's 'In Custody.'

Apart from being a highly respected actress, Shabana is also a committed social activist. Since 1989, she is a member of the National Integration Council headed by the Prime Minister of India; a member of National AIDS Commission (of India); and was nominated (in 1997) as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. UNFPA had appointed her as its goodwill Ambassador for India, and the Michigan University conferred (in 2002) on her the Martin Luther King Professorship award in recognition of her contribution to arts, culture and society.

In 2006, Shabana became the first Indian to receive the prestigious International Gandhi Peace Prize, which was presented to her at the House of Commons in London, with the British Parliament in attendance.

Ajay Naidu has been acting since he was eleven years old, and has acted in over 40 films. He made his big-screen debut in 1985 in the feature 'Touch & Go.' After numerous TV, film and theater appearances he spent two years at the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training run by the American Repertory Theatre (ART) at Harvard. Richard Linklater tapped Ajay to portray the Pakistani owner of a convenience store in 'subUrbia' (1997), which lead to an Independent Spirit Award, and parts in such indie films as 'Once We Were Strangers' (1997), Adam Goldberg's 'Scotch and Milk' (1998) and Darren Aronofsky's 'Pi' (1998), among others. His work in the cult classic 'Office Space' has turned him into a household name.

Ajay also made his TV series debut as a regular playing the people-pleasing intern working at a network news show in 'Lateline' (NBC, 1998-99), which got him invited to Bill Clinton's White House. He has spent the better part of the la 18 months working with Complicite, a theatre company out of London, and has toured with them worldwide in their production of Shakespeare's 'Measure for Measure.'

Along with acting, Ajay has always been a breakdancer and a poet and his vocals grace several records including Talvin Singh's 'OK' and 'HA,' as well as Midival Punditz's self titled debut and 'Midival Times' for which he directed the video and did rhymes on their techno anthem '136.'

Ajay has just directed his first feature film entitled 'Ashes,' and his 2007 releases include 'The Accidental Husband,' 'Strokes,' 'Ashes' and 'Loins of Punjab Presents.'

Ayesha Dharker made her screen debut in the 1989 Francois Villier film, 'Manika: Une vie plus tard.' She subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films, including numerous television roles in the UK, particularly in 'Cutting It' and 'Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee,' which she co-starred with Meera Syal.

Her most internationally recognised role was when she acted as Queen Jamillia, the Queen of Naboo in 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones' (2002). Ayesha's theater credits include starring in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Bombay Dreams' (2004). She was the only actor cast in both London's West End production and the Broadway production.

In the international award-winning film, 'The Terrorist' (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the National Film Award for Best Actress in India and the Cairo Film Festival award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress.

Her recent films include 'Outsourced,' 'Color Me Kubrick,' and 'Loins of Punjab Presents.'