Farhan Akhtar reveals how his parents divorce impacted him deeply; says he worried about his daughters

Farhan Akhtar in a recent interview spoke about how the divorce of his parents affected his psyche. As we know, Javed Akhtar was married to Honey Irani before he decided to separate and marry Shabana Azmi. Farhan Akhtar said as a married man he always felt he could not make his two daughters, Shakya and Akira endure the pain of a broken home. But Farhan Akhtar and Adhuna Bhabani separated in 2015 after 15 years of marriage. He said that the two did their best to make it a not-so painful experience for the children. 

He said his kids belong to the modern era so it was somewhat different. Adhuna Bhabani and he had an open honest chat with the girls to explain why they wanted to end their marriage. He said they reassure them that they were in no possible way responsible for the same. Farhan Akhtar said that Adhuna Bhabani and he told them that they did not divorce because of the girls or their behaviour. He was quoted as saying, “This is something between two grown up people, who as friends decided that this is something that they want to do. That’s the best we could do.” 

While Honey Irani ensured that Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar have a healthy relationship with Shabana Azmi, society made it difficult for them. Back then, divorce was rare in Indian society and they bore the brunt of the same. He said due to his parents’ celeb status, people knew he came from a broken home. Whenever someone wanted to hit him below the belt, they would drag it up. He was quoted as saying, “If someone wanted to hit you below the belt in the school during a fight, they would say, ‘But your father left your mother’. And it would hurt. So apart from the fact that you were sad it happened, it would make you angry that it could be used against you.” 

Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar married in 2022 after dating for almost four to five years. His kids have a warm bond with their dad’s new partner. Shabana Azmi credited Honey Irani for her harmonious equation with Farhan and Zoya Akhtar. The same spirit is continued in the new generation as well.