Shabana Azmi finds it 'tough to accept' that she can't have children with Javed Akhtar: ‘Society makes you feel incomplete’

Shabana Azmi, who has been married to Javed Akhtar for four decades, recently admitted that she found it 'tough to accept' that she can't have children and revealed how society made her feel about it.

Updated on Sep 18, 2024  |  11:35 AM IST |  52.9K
Shabana Azmi talks about not being able to bear children: ‘Society makes you feel…’ (Instagram/@azmishabana18)
Shabana Azmi talks about not being able to bear children: ‘Society makes you feel…’ (Instagram/@azmishabana18)

Shabana Azmi has been married to veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar for almost 40 years now but the couple never embraced parenthood. The actress, who cannot bear a kid due to medical reasons, recently spoke about society making her feel incomplete and accepting the reality.

In an interview with Indian Express, Azmi expressed, “It’s tough coming to terms with the fact that you can’t bear children. Society makes you feel incomplete. You have to work hard to pull yourself out of that.” The 73-year-old further encouraged all women to understand that the ultimate sense of their self must come from their work.

Shabana said that women measure their self-worth from their relationships (wife, mother daughter…) but men measure it in reference to their career and work. “I believe that should apply to all genders.”

In a 2000 interview with Simi Grewal, the Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani star spoke about how she didn’t take much time to move on from accepting the fact that she could not bear a baby. For Azmi, it wasn’t any sort of ‘major disappointment’ but rather she was amazed at how easily she accepted her fate.

ALSO READ: Javed Akhtar gives a savage reply to troll who called him ‘son of gaddar’: 'Difficult to decide whether you’re ignorant or idiot'

Shabana said once she realized she couldn’t have kids, she didn’t let it linger over and make her unhappy. Rather Azmi packed her bags and carried on from there. However, why did Shabana Azmi never adopt a child with Javed Akhtar? The Arth actress admitted that she was very happy with her stepchildren (Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar) and redirected all her love towards them.

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“I am very friendly with Javed’s kids so that need was fulfilled,” said Shabana adding that not having children made her more focused on her career because according to her ‘motherhood is very demanding’.

Javed Akhtar was previously married to Honey Irani from 1972 to 1985 and the duo are parents to filmmakers Farhan and Zoya. The lyricist recently saw the release of a docu-series based on his and Salim Khan's life titled Angry Young Men. It is available to watch on Prime Video.

ALSO READ: Salman Khan once said Salim Khan wished family to keep ‘dosti’ with Akhtars despite fallout with Javed, reveals Namrata Rao: ‘Dono families ke beech kabhi…’

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About The Author

Aditya Sagar is an Entertainment Journalist who holds a true-blue Bollywood heart and has his ears tuned to the

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Credits: Indian Express
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