Actress Shabana Azmi injured in road accident

Shabana Azmi, one of Indian cinema's most respected and noted actors, was injured today when the SUV she was in rammed into a truck on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, a senior police official of Maharashtra said.

Azmi's spokesperson said the 69-year-old actor was undergoing a check-up at a hospital in Mumbai and "she is fine, nothing to worry about", reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Shabana's husband and renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar, who was also traveling with her, escaped unhurt.

A local police official said the driver of the car carrying Shabana and Javed was apparently trying to overtake another vehicle and rammed into the truck from behind.

Another person who was also travelling in the car sustained minor injuries, the official said. His identity is not yet known.

The incident took place around 3:30pm near Khalapur, about 60-km from Mumbai, in Raigad district of Maharashtra, Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar said.

Shabana Azmi was on her way to Khandala where the family has a holiday home.

Video footage of the accident shows Shabana Azmi with her face and eye swollen and being helped out of the rear seat of the SUV. She was rushed to the MGM hospital in Panvel for treatment.

The impact of the collision was so strong that the front passengers' side of the SUV was crumpled and the radiator and bonnet wrecked.

Five time winner of the Indian National Film Award, Shabana Azmi is known for performance work in several critically-acclaimed films like Mrinal Sen's Khandahar and Ek Din Achanak, Aparna Sen's Sati, Masoom, Godmother, Junoon and Ankur, besides several Bollywood commercial movies.