‘All The Mud That Was Flung..’

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi recently spoke about her marriage with Javed Akhtar and the criticism she faced for it, especially from those who admired her feminist values. She felt that while seeking personal happiness, it seemed she had hurt another woman Javed’s ex-wife, Honey Irani. Many expected her to explain but she chose silence to avoid hurting more people.

Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi tied knots in 1984. He was first married to Honey Irani, with whom he has two children- Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. While Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani separated in 1978, their divorce was finalized in ’84-‘85.

While speaking with Filmfare, Shabana Azmi said, “I was this feminist model. And I had done something that was inexplicable. Because it was like, with everything that I said, I was stamping over another woman’s rights for my own happiness. And I think people who followed me as a feminist had every right to feel that. But then, what I figured was that if I started explaining the circumstances in which it had been done, it would lead to much more hurt for the people involved and the families involved. It was better to keep quiet, and I think that was a very sagacious decision because after all the mud that was flung at me, it died down.”

She now shares a good and respectful relationship with Honey Irani, and she feels that was only possible because they didn’t attack each other publicly. “That was possible because no mud was flung there. The credit for that goes to Honey, me and Javed. You’re in a big hurry to explain ki ye jo aap galti samajh rahi hai is ke basis dekhiye. But all three of us refrained from that and it was very wise,” she said.

Javed Akhtar also admitted during a conversation in the docu-series Angry Young Men that he feels guilty about how his first marriage ended, and takes most of the blame for it. He said, “Honey is one person in the world towards whom I feel guilty. And she’s the only person. About 60 to 70 person responsibility lies on my shoulder for the failure of that marriage. If I had as much understanding as I have today, perhaps, things would not have gone wrong. It’s very difficult to accept. But that’s how it is.”