Versatile actress and social activist Shabana Azmi will receive the prestigious International Gandhi Peace Prize at a special function at Britain's House of Commons here today for her work amongst the disadvantaged women of India, particularly in Mumbai slums.

British actress Vanessa Redgrave will present the award in the presence of a distinguished gathering including Professor Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, and the Indian High Commissioner Kamalesh Sharma.

Azmi, who was described by Satyajit Ray, as the finest dramatic actress of India, told "I am honoured at being chosen for such an outstanding award, whose previous recipients included the Dalai Lama."

She said she was happy that her involvement for rehabilitation of slum dwellers had borne fruit. At least 13,000 slum dwellers have been rehabilitated owing to her effort.

Azmi has starred in some of the greatest Indian films like Ankur, Mandi, Arth, Khandar, Paar, Sparsh, Godmother and Tehzeeb.

Born to noted Urdu progressive poet Kaifi Azmi and theatre actress Shaukat Kaifi, Shabana has acted in films by virtually all of India's most famous art house directors including Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen and others as well as in commercial and middle-of-the-road Hindi films, besides some international films where she has essayed several strong female characters.

Azmi has also acted on stage to considerable acclaim, in plays like Harold Pinter's Betrayal for Singapore Repertory Theatre - 2005, Tanika Gupta's The Waiting Room for The National Theatre London - 2002, Ibsen's The Dolls House for Singapore Repertory Theatre - 1997, Urdu adaptation of Bertol Becht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle - 1980 and most notably in Tumhari Amrita, the Urdu adaptation of A R Gurney's Love Letters - 1992-2006.

She has won the National Award for Best Actress five times including 3 times in a row from 1983-85 for films Arth, Khandar and Paar.

She has also won innumerable awards for acting including the Filmfare award for Best Actress three times and the Filmfare Life Time Achievement Award.

Internationally she is one of the most respected faces of Indian cinema and has won awards at festivals like Toronto Reel World International Film Festival, IIFA (Life Time Achievement 2005) and Chicago International Film Festival among others.

She received the prestigious Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum - Davos 2006 for achieving outstanding excellence in the field of culture and having used art to reach out to other cultures.