Shabana Azmi's cake = Poverty porn?

At least a writer for leading UK newspaper, The Guardian, seems to think so!

Here's an interesting take on Shabana Azmi's 60th birthday party held last Saturday and her bizarre birthday cake (in the shape of a Mumbai slum) by The Guardian's writer Parvez Sharma.

The piece called 'Is a slumdog birthday cake not the real poverty porn?' is a scathing denouement on the hypocritical attitude taken by some B-Townies.

Here are some excerpts:

"India's Bollywood elite turned out in force for a 60th birthday bash. The birthday girl in question, Shabana Azmi, is almost as old as independent India, having been born just three years after the British Raj ended.

A friend disgusted by this cake sent me a picture. I was appalled and needed to write about it.

The half-eaten cake is a baked replica of what a slum looks like to India's large middle class and its rather small elite.

No millionaire here, only slums: Shabana Azmi's birthday cake presented by hubby Javed Akhtar was made in the shape of a Mumbai slum. It had Galli No 60 written on it to denote her age

A river seems to run through it in blue icing but a careful look reveals it is a nallah or a sewage-filled open drain -- the trademark of neighbourhoods where India's urban poor build their makeshift homes.

A clothes line full of washing can also be seen among the remains of the cake.

As I look at the picture of Shabana Azmi's birthday cake, I wonder about her husband's sense of humour.

I wonder if the irony was lost on most of the Bollywood elite, who dutifully showed up and no doubt ate big chunks from the makeshift huts and open sewage drains.

I wonder, if they are aware of India's latest poverty statistics. I am sure the cake, like the rest of the food on offer, was delicious.

Some of these very same elites had been up in arms against what many activists called the 'poverty porn' of Danny Boyle's film, Slumdog Millionaire.

The question is: Is eating Shabana Azmi's slumdog cake while dancing to Bollywood music at a rather posh and expensive party not a tasteless representation of 'poverty porn' yet again?"

Shabana held her b'day bash at a Juhu hotel

Shabana danced her way into her sixties with a birthday bash held at a Juhu hotel.

The theme of the party had most of her guests wearing some sort of headgear. While we take a look at who was there, here's what happened at the bash...

Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek and Jaya Bachchan

Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar.

Amitabh Bachchan

Rekha

Anil Kapoor, Farah Khan and Zeenat Aman

Rakesh Roshan

Farhan Akhtar

Tabu

Dia Mirza and Vidya Balan

Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor

Shatrughan Sinha

Baba and Shaukat Azmi

Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak

>> The b'day girl and Jaya Bachchan got heads turning when they grooved to Hindi film hits including the chartbusting Munni Badnaam Hui.

"People have never known Jaya and me to be dancers. They were shocked to see us dancing to Munni," laughs Shabana.

>> Zeenat danced to Laila Main laila from Qurbani.

>>The cake, which had slums on it, was specially ordered by Azmi's hubby Javed who called it Shabana Nagri.

Shabana Azmi's starry 60th birthday party

Guess what Shabana Azmi got on her 60th birthday from husband Javed Akhtar - a cake designed as a slum!

This was revealed by Amitabh Bachchan, who was invited to the bash, where the theme was 'wear a headgear'.

Big B, 67, who worked with Shabana in 'Amar Akbar Anthony', was at the birthday bash with wife Jaya, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya.

"At Shabana Azmi's 60th (birthday)... such joy to meet up with old friends and colleagues... and listening to blaring 60's-70's music... Javed Saheb at his humorous best... in splits with his one liners! Shatru (Shatrughan Sinha), Vinod (Khanna) and I meeting after ages... such nostalgia (sic)," Amitabh posted on his Twitter page.

"The theme for the party was 'wear a head gear'... I mustered a Manali cap.. many did not comply... Javed and Shabana spiked hair... Javed Saheb's gift to Shabana - a cake designed like a slum!! Touche," he added.

Shabana Azmi's 60th birthday party had for its invitees a mix of friends, family and selected colleagues from the film industry who had converged at the Trilogy lounge in Mumbai.

"Not like Javed (Akhtar)'s 60th birthday party which was as lavish and large as a wedding reception," laughed Shabana heartily, adding: "But a motley group of invitees from theatre and my political activities."

At the party Shabana danced to the 'Munni Badnaam Hui' number from 'Dabangg' and even got Jaya Bachchan to join in.

"I was doing a performance of my new play 'Seven' in Delhi till late in the night on Friday. So all the arrangements for the party were done by my gal pals Parna (best friend for decades) and Shahana (Goswami) and my sister-in-law Tanvi," said the actress.

It seemed rather unbelievable that the timeless Shabana Azmi had actually turned 60 but the matter of age amused her.

"I can't understand why being 60 should be such an issue. I am asked in interviews 'Kaisa lag raha hai?' What is one supposed to feel? I am very proud to have arrived at this place. Do I feel 60? I don't know. Because I don't know how other 60-year-olds feel. I am just happy," she said.

Shabana stepped into her 61st year of age with her friends in Delhi. "We wrapped up the play in the evening and then I was with my friends in Delhi to ring in my birthday. Then I flew into Mumbai for my party. So, it's been almost a non-stop celebration for me," she said.

The play 'Seven' in which she performed in Delhi is one more attempt to bring her personal convictions on a public platform.

"Someone pointed out something interesting to me. I was shooting for Shyam Benegal's 'Ankur' during my birthday many years ago. Now, I was performing a play with a strong feminist message on this birthday. It's an interesting summation of my journey as an actress and a woman," she said.

Shabana is toying with the idea of writing an autobiography. "Many friends and well-wishers think I should. They see something in my life that could be useful to others. Let's see," said the actress.

Her mantra for such luminous longevity? "I guess it's my refusal to conform. I don't see why I have to wear the colours that are politically correct. Who says saffron is identified with one religion and green with another? I'll wear both colours together. And let me see who can stop me."

Shabana Azmi admitted to hospital

Javed Akhtar reveals more about her illness

Actress and activist Shabana Azmi, who was admitted to Jaslok hospital after she complained of pain below her left ear, will be discharged from hospital in two days, says husband Javed Akhtar.

"She was suffering from acute pain under her left ear. Now she is all right. She is in the hospital. They have controlled the pain, but she still has fever because of the pain. I think by today or tomorrow she will be discharged," Akhtar said.

The the 54-year-old was admitted Wednesday.

Explaining the problem, Akhtar said: "What happens sometime the blood vessels and nerve come too near. The blood vessel that is throbbing, it pulsates almost 70 times a minute, starts hitting the nerves and that disturbs."

In Pics: Bollywood Makeup and Hair Awards 2009