The incident took place near Khalapur, over 60 km from Mumbai, when the Tata Safari car in which Azmi and Akhtar were traveling to Pune rammed into a truck,
Actor Shabana Azmi was injured in an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Saturday, the police said.
Her husband and lyricist Javed Akhtar, who was also traveling with her, escaped unhurt.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those who expressed concern about the actor after the news came.
"The news of @AzmiShabana Ji's injury in an accident is distressing. I pray for her quick recovery," Modi tweeted.
Azmi (69) was first rushed to MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai and later shifted to Kokilaben Hospital in Andheri in Mumbai.
Doctors at the hospital said she was undergoing necessary medical examination.
The incident took place near Khalapur, over 60 km from Mumbai, when the Tata Safari car in which Azmi and Akhtar were traveling to Pune rammed into a truck, said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar.
Akthar celebrated his 75th birthday on Friday.
A local police official said the car driver was apparently trying to overtake another vehicle and rammed into the truck. The driver sustained minor injuries, he said.
"Shabana Azmi injured in road accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway OMG! Praying so hard," actor Swara Bhaskar reacted on Twitter.
TV channels showed an injured Azmi being carried out of her car.
Actor Varun Dhawan requested the media not to broadcast or publish such images.
"To all my dear friends in the media if someone has met with an accident please do not splash their pictures all over it can be extremely distressing to their family and loved ones. This is just a humble request thank you," he wrote on Twitter.
Actor Shraddha Kapoor made a similar appeal.
"Please have some empathy and sensitivity and think how distressing this can be to their family members and loved ones. Please take it down immediately. Thank you," she tweeted.
Azmi is known for her path-breaking roles in films such as Arth, Ankur, Paar, Masoom and Godmother.