When Shabana Azmi tried hard to be a superwoman and ended up crying one day

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi and legendary lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar have been married for the last four decades. Their chemistry with each other and the support they have provided to each other as partners is inspiring. They’ve often referred to themselves as ‘best friends’ and once Shabana laughed to Simi Garewal in an old interview that Javed was too ‘busy being her best buddy’ to be romantic.Javed Akhtar had revealed the first moment he realised he was in love with her, and said that he had been fascinated by her even though he didn’t know her.

In the conversation, Simi had asked Shabana about her marriage with Akhtar and the ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ actress shared that at one level it is more difficult, and on the other, you also understand, you appreciate each other as well. She added that, when you are in the same profession, you recognise that space has to be given. She also spilled that she is always encroaching on his space when he is writing and that her mother thinks that it is sacrilege the way she invades his space.

The actress also revealed that there was a time where she was trying hard to be a ‘superwoman’ and it ultimately resulted in her crying one day. At that point, Javed Akhtar gave her some advice that she always remembered, “Stop apologising for being successful. Stop feeling guilty. Before he told me, I hadn’t even thought about it.” She mentioned that he sat her down and pointed it out, and she was ‘amazed’ that there were times she had been apologetic. Shabana Azmi also added that the two of them do not have ‘defined roles’ in their marriage, and they were ‘friends’.

She was also asked about how important she thought marriage was for an independent and financially stable woman like her. Shabana answered that her case was different as she didn’t have any children. She went on to say that if she had children, she would have moved in a different direction than what she has taken right now. “Not being able to have children made some of the choices easier.” Asked whether it was a disappointment, she said that she was ‘amazed’ that it wasn’t, and how easily she accepted it. “I didn’t let it make me happy and carried on from there. I never wanted to adopt a child.”
She was also asked why she didn’t want to adopt and she answered beautifully that because she is very friendly with Farhan and Zoya and they are grown up. Appreciating her two step-children, she had said that they are bright children and that it's wonderful to have them at this age where new ideas are flowing out of them.
Before Shabana, Javed Akhtar was married to Honey Irani with whom he had Farhan and Zoya Akhtar.