Farhan Akhtar Shares Lessons From His Parents' Divorce on Handling His Relationships (image:instagram.com/faroutakhtar)

As a child, Farhan Akhtar couldn’t help but think about his parents’ divorce and the impact it had on him. This experience instilled in him a strong desire to break the cycle and create a different reality for his own children. He vowed not to repeat the same pattern, hoping to provide a more stable and loving environment for his kids, unlike what he experienced growing up.

Farhan Akhtar recently shared his personal struggles with dealing with his parents’ divorce at a young age, revealing how it had a profound impact on his own marriage and relationships. In a candid conversation with Faye D’Souza on her YouTube channel, Farhan opened up about the challenges he faced in processing the effects of his parents’ split, particularly the divorce of his father Javed Akhtar and mother Honey Irani. He admitted that it was difficult to come to terms with the consequences of their separation on his own life and relationships.

Farhan Akhtar reflected on the challenges of his own separation from ex-wife Adhuna Akhtar after 15 years of marriage, drawing parallels with his parents’ divorce during his childhood. He acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, stating that having experienced the pain of his parents’ split, he was determined not to inflict the same on his own children. Farhan emphasised the importance of honest communication with his kids, explaining that he and Adhuna made a conscious effort to reassure them that the decision to separate was not a result of anything they had done, but rather a necessary step for their own growth. By doing so, he hoped to mitigate the impact of the separation on his children.

Farhan and Adhuna announced their separation in 2016. They have two daughters, Shakya and Akira, together. Farhan then started dating Shibani Dandekar and the two got married in 2022.

Javed Akhtar’s first marriage was to Honey Irani, a former child artiste and writer, in 1972, with whom he had two children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. However, their relationship began to unravel around 1980 and eventually ended in divorce in 1985. During this time, Javed Akhtar met and fell in love with screenwriter Shabana Azmi, whom he married in 1984, a year before his divorce from Honey Irani was finalized.

Farhan Akhtar recently opened up about his childhood experiences in the docuseries Angry Young Men, revealing that he felt a deep sense of betrayal when his father, Javed Akhtar, married actor Shabana Azmi. This personal revelation offers a glimpse into Farhan’s complex emotions and relationships

Farhan is gearing up to direct the highly anticipated film Don 3, starring Ranveer Singh and Kiara Advani, marking his return to the director’s chair.

(Nazwin Basheer has produced this article as part of a Timeline Internship Programme)