Farhan Akhtar recently opened up about the lasting impact of his parents’ divorce on his own relationships and marriage. The celebrated actor and filmmaker, in a candid conversation with Faye D’Souza on her YouTube channel, shared how his father Javed Akhtar’s separation from his mother Honey Irani shaped his views on marriage and influenced his own decisions when his relationship with ex-wife Adhuna Akhtar came to an end.
Farhan, who experienced his parents’ divorce as a child, admitted that it was a difficult period that left a deep impression on him. “A certain aspect of it was, of course, that I had been through having divorced parents when I was a kid. I know what it felt like, and there was a huge part of me that was like, ‘I cannot do this to my own kids,'” he said. The actor stressed that he and Adhuna made every effort to communicate openly with their two daughters, Shakya and Akira, during their separation.
“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, but it’s something that I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life,” Farhan continued. He reflected on the internal struggle of wondering whether his children “deserved” the experience of their parents’ separation, a thought that continues to haunt him.
Farhan and Adhuna Akhtar announced their separation in 2016 after 15 years of marriage. Following their split, Farhan began dating Shibani Dandekar, and the couple tied the knot in 2022.
Farhan’s father, Javed Akhtar, a renowned lyricist and screenwriter, was married to former child artiste and writer Honey Irani from 1972 until their divorce in 1985. Their relationship ended when Farhan was still a child, and Javed went on to marry actress Shabana Azmi in 1984. Farhan has spoken in the past about feeling “betrayed” as a child when his father remarried.
Sources By Agencies
