Amid Shabana Azmi's H1N1 Row, All On 'Painful' Love Triangle With Husband Javed Akhtar And His Ex

Javed Akhtar's ex-wife, Honey Irani played a big role in the bonding between their kids, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar and their stepmom, Shabana Azmi.

Veteran Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi has been diagnosed with swine flu (H1N1 influenza). Her team confirmed that she developed a high fever of 102 degrees, due to which she had to cancel her scheduled participation in ongoing student-led protest demonstrations. Doctors have advised the 75-year-old actress to take complete bed rest and undergo a five-day isolation period under medical supervision to recover swiftly.

The revelation got Shabana's fans worried as just days before, she suffered a brief asthma attack. It was triggered by tear gas inhalation when she joined a Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) march at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Amid the actress' health concern, her personal life, particularly her past love triangle with Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, resurfaced.

All about Shabana Azmi's love triangle with Javed Akhtar and his first wife

In the 2024 docu-series Angry Young Men, Shabana Azmi finally broke her years-long silence regarding her affair with Javed Akhtar while he was still married to his first wife, Honey Irani. As per Shabana, it is very difficult to explain in words the complexities people face when they are in the midst of a love triangle. The actress said that the "triangular relationship" was even more "painful" for them because their children got caught up in the drama.

For the unversed, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani were parents to adult Javed Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar when their father started a relationship with top star Shabana Azmi. The latter was labelled a " homebreaker" and "home-destroyer" due to her relationship with a married Javed. Regarding her choice not to defend her stance in the matter, she mentioned her point of view would hurt a lot of people. She even recalled being advised by many, including Kaifi Azmi and Shaukat Kaifi, not to get herself in the mess. She stated:

"In any relationship, which is a triangular relationship, it is very personal and very painful, especially when children are involved. It becomes more hurtful because people are so quick to pass judgement and say 'she's a homebreaker', 'she's a home-destroyer' and things like that. Obviously I wanted to explain my point of view but then I figured if I did that, I would end up hurting far too many people. So wisdom lay in keeping quiet."

Shabana thought that trying to explain herself would only lead to "getting the brickbats." She further shared that even though the relationship between her and Javed's former family was initially strained, it got better with time.

Farhan Akhtar felt betrayed when his father married Shabana Azmi, his mother brought them close

Javed Akhtar tied the knot with Shabana Azmi in December 1984, and his divorce from his first wife, Honey Irani was finalised in the following year. That period was very tough for his kids, Farhan and Zoya. The Bhaag Milkha Bhaag star even revealed being bitter about it initially. He stated that accepting the big change was tough as a child growing up. However, with time things got better, and he credited his stepmother, Shabana Azmi, for the same. He stated:

"There was a phase when I was angry with him. I felt betrayed by him. There were all those normal emotions that I did go through as a child growing up. It took time to go back to normal with my dad. Shabana played a big part in creating that normalcy."

Shabana, on the other hand, credited Farhan's mother, Honey Irani, for giving her a chance to form positive bonds with Farhan and Zoya and mend their relationship with their father. As per Shabana, Honey had every right to detach her kids from Javed Akhtar and her, but she didn't do so. Shabana is forever grateful to Honey for the same. She mentioned:

"I give Honey Irani a lot of credit for it, because through it all, she never poisoned the children's minds against me. She would have been justified…But she never, never did that. In fact, she sent the children with us to London when they were really young, and that became a bonding, and it's to her credit."

What are your thoughts on Shabana Azmi's relationship dynamics with Javed Akhtar and his former family? Let us know.

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