Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi

At a Mushaira hosted by Kapil Sibal and Anu Ranjan in Mumbai last evening, a number of Bollywood’s senior denizens made their presence felt. From Jeetendra and Shabana Azmi, to Neena Gupta and Sudhir Mishra – the older generation seemed to enjoy the poems being recited.

But what intrigues us is how they have remained in the spotlight over the decades. So let’s take a look at some of the stars who attended the event – what they looked like in the past and how they look now:

Shabana Azmi is a National Award winning actress whose most controversial film was Deepa Mehta’s Fire, where she shared a lesbian kiss with Nandita Das.

Shabana Azmi - then and now
Shabana Azmi – then and now

Neena Gupta is also a National Award winning actress and hit the headlines, not for a role, but for having a child out of wedlock with West Indian cricketer, Vivian Richards. Her most famous Bollywood song is Choli Ke Peechey from Khalnayak.

Neena Gupta - then and now
Neena Gupta – then and now

Born Ravi Kapoor, Jeetendra was best known as Bollywood’s Jumping Jack-Flash. Today, however, he is better known as Ekta Kapoor’s father.

Jeetendra - then and now
Jeetendra – then and now

Who do you think has aged the most gracefully? My vote goes to Shabana Azmi. What’s yours?

Here’s a look at some of the other celebrities who attended the cultural event last night:

Sudhir Mishra
Sudhir Mishra
Neena Gupta
Neena Gupta
Jeetendra
Jeetendra
Talat Aziz
Talat Aziz
Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar
Roopkumar Rathod
Roopkumar Rathod
Anu Kapoor
Annu Kapoor

Pix: Yogen Shah for MissMalini