How Javed Akhtar proposed to his first wife Honey Irani during a card game: ‘If I win, I will marry you’

Honey Irani as a child actor. (Photo: Express Archive)

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It was during the shooting of Seeta Aur Geeta when Javed Akhtar first met her. He was working as a screenwriter and Honey was working in a supporting role in the film. The two soon struck a rapport and started meeting every day and chatting for hours. But Javed Akhtar’s proposal to Honey happened most unconventionally. During a card game that Javed was losing, Honey said that she’d pick a card for him. To which he said, “If it’s a good one, I’ll marry you.”

Even though she was just 17, producers used to be lined up outside Honey Irani’s home to launch her as the next big thing. But, Honey was madly in love with Javed and wanted to get married to him.

Javed Akhtar, meanwhile, was yet to kickstart his career. It was Salim Khan who took his proposal for marriage to Honey Irani’s mother. “This boy wants to marry your girl but he has no home, plays cards and drinks,” he told Honey’s mom. Honey’s mother agreed after resisting a bit.

Javed Akhtar shared a great bond with Salim Khan. (Photo: Express Archive)

The couple had to go through a struggling phase, but over time, Javed’s hard work paid off and the couple bought a posh bungalow and upgraded their style of living. Javed was bombarded with offers and mega projects with time. Meanwhile, the couple had two children – Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar.

While Honey kept her career aside and got busy taking care of the household, Javed had secretly found love in his colleague, Shabana Azmi.

Javed Akhtar and  Honey Irani have two children – Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar. (Photo: Express Archive)

When Honey got to know about Javed and Shabana, the duo started having regular fights at home. However, the duo made sure that the kids didn’t get to know any of this.

It was Honey who eventually asked Javed to leave her for Shabana. “I spoke to them and said, ‘Your father is not leaving me because of you guys. It’s just that we don’t get along’. I never spoke a word against Shabana or Javed. I didn’t want the children to develop feelings of hate or anger. They’d go over and meet them. Javed would come over. Touchwood! Their relationship never went wrong,” she once shared in an interview.

Veteran writer Javed Akhtar once spoke about how marriage and divorce could not affect his relationships with Shabana and his ex-wife Honey Irani. “Meri zindagi mein do auratein hain jinse mere bahut hi ache relation hain. Ek ka shaadi kuch nahi bigad saki aur dusre ka divorce kuch nahi bigad saka (I have two women in my life with whom I have great relationships. Marriage could not ruin one, and divorce could not ruin the other one). I am very very friendly with Honey and obviously, Shabana is my best friend, ” he shared in conversation with Arbaaz Khan for his new show on Bollywood Bubble.

Shabana Azmi once shared that the coming together of her and writer Javed Akhtar was not an easy task, as it involved heartaches, children, going against the tide and just vulnerable people attempting to make things better.

Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi have been married since 1984. (Photo: Shabana Azmi/Instagram)

Javed was married to actor-screenwriter Honey Irani, with whom he had two children, Farhan and Zoya. He then fell in love with Shabana, and the duo got married in 1984. A year later, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani got divorced.

Shabana Azmi revealed that the phase was so challenging that Javed and she tried to call off their relationship multiple times, because children were involved.

“Oh it was a very, very, very tough period. I don’t think anybody knows what all the three people involved suffer. They think, ‘that’s it, kar liya.’ It is very difficult, very painful, particularly when there are children involved in it. You go through a very, very difficult period,” shared Shabana Azmi in an interview with Curly Tales talking about how she navigated through the judgments.

Today, Shabana feels blessed that she is close to both Zoya and Farhan and “Honey is like a family member.”

“We did try to break several times, in fact three times we tried to break because of the children but it just didn’t happen. Today, what is good is that I am very good friends with all of them, Honey is like a family member of ours and with the children we have this beautiful relationship. So, in the end, it has worked out well, for which I am very grateful. But whenever you know of a situation like that, all I would say is please don’t judge because it is a very painful period in your life. My relationship with Farhan and Zoya is very strong, in fact when they have a problem with the father, they turn to me!” she added.

Writer Javed Akhtar and actor Shabana Azmi along with his children, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya and former wife Honey Irani. (Photo: Shabana Azmi/Instagram)

Shabana Azmi also credited Javed’s ex-wife Honey Irani for the bond she shares with Javed Akhtar’s children, Zoya and Farhan Akhtar.