Javed Akhtar changed after success, drinking became a problem, says first wife Honey Irani: ‘I took time to warm up to Shabana Azmi’

Revealing how Javed proposed to her in his unique style, she said, “He proposed first. We had a liking for each other and we used to meet off the sets also. Once, he was playing cards and he was losing, but he asked me to pull a card and when I pull that card, he won, then he said, ‘Chalo, you are so lucky for me. Let’s get married.’ That’s how he proposed and we got married. This was after 6-7 months of courting.”

‘Success changed Javed, his drinking was a major problem’

Talking about why their marriage did not last, she said, “I don’t know why it didn’t work. Everything was moving too fast. The success that they were getting was very fast and with success things do change, the man also changes and so does his surrounding. I guess maybe I could not cope up with that. His drinking was a major problem. Then he was meeting a lot of people, he was spending evenings out and those things increased a lot in between. We both were mature enough to understand that this is not working. He had tried to give up drinking many times.”

She added, “We both took the decision to separate because it wasn’t working. So instead of fighting and tearing each other apart, the most sensible thing we did was separating. I was also too young and immature, so I’m not blaming Javed entirely. We got into it very fast. We should have waited, maybe we would not have gotten married.”

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‘Took time to warm up to Shabana’

When asked how one can forgive an ex and develop a friendship after separation, something she shares with Akhtar and which her son Farhan Akhtar shares with his ex-wife Adhuna Bhabani, she said, “Once you have separated, then what is the problem. Then why are you angry and why are you crying?”

She admitted that while she was on good terms with Javed after their separation, it took time for her to warm up to his second wife Shabana Azmi. “With Javed after separation, things got better in 3-4 years, but he was always a support for the children and me. But with Shabana, it took me a little time. We both tried our best, and we are now good friends. We go for each other’s birthday parties, we travel together.”