{
  "id": 4620863,
  "title": "Javed Akhtar ‘proud’ of Shabana Azmi for backing CJP protests: ‘Old Shabana has woken up’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/javed-akhtar-proud-of-shabana-azmi-for-backing-cjp-protests-old",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T10:02:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/javed-akhtar-proud-of-shabana-azmi-for-cockroach-janata-party-protests-10856685/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Javed Akhtar expressed his pride in his wife, Shabana Azmi, for her participation in the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests in New Delhi. The veteran actor praised his wife for being one of the few Bollywood celebrities to join the protest against the leak of National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) papers. Javed had previously joked that it was not as intense as when Shabana was younger, but he was still overwhelmingly proud of her activism.\n\nShabana Azmi's activism is not a new phenomenon. She has always been vocal about issues like the 1993 protests in Mumbai, where she supported slum dwellers against the demolition of their homes. Even then, her mother had to intervene to ensure she could perform in a play despite being in jail for the protests.\n\nHowever, her most recent activism involved attending the CJP protests in Delhi. Javed revealed that Shabana initially wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue with the protesting students. But when they didn't receive a response after three days, she decided to join the protests herself. This decision came after Shabana called Javed from Delhi, informing him about her plans to participate in the CJP protests. Javed emphasized that Shabana's actions were driven by her conscience and that she cannot be stopped from doing what she believes is right.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Batwara 1947 failed as people couldn’t accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim: Shabana Azmi",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/batwara-1947-failed-as-people-couldnt-accept-sunny-deol-as-a-muslim",
        "published": "2026-08-29T03:48:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}