Farhan Akhtar has always been vocal about the turbulence in his life. The actor-filmmaker has often discussed how his parents, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani’s divorce, affected him.

As he basks in the success of the docuseries ‘Angry Young Man’, he candidly shares his thoughts in a conversation with Faye D’Souza. The ‘Don’ filmmaker revealed how he internalized his parents’ divorce. Further, he expressed regret for adding to his single mother’s stress through drinking and going off-track.

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His parents’ divorce also influenced how Akhtar approached his own divorce from his ex-wife, Adhuna Bhabani, after 16 years of marriage. Having witnessed his parents’ separation, he ensured that his children did not struggle as much as he did. “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 kids.’”

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Furthermore, the actor explained that he and his ex-wife chose to speak openly with their children about the situation. He believed that discussing the matter candidly and explaining why they were taking this step would make it easier for the children. He emphasized that the separation had nothing to do with them personally. “It’s not because of them, it’s not because of anything they did, said, or because they are here. This is something between two grown-up people who, as friends, decided that this is what they want to do. That’s the best we could do.”

 

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As he discussed dealing with his divorce, he acknowledged that his children might have lingering questions. “It’s never going to entirely go away, thinking about ‘Did they deserve this?’. It’s going to keep coming up. That’s something I guess I’ll just have to live with. The fact that it happened to me as a kid played a huge role in how I feel about it now.” Moreover, Farhan also recounted the time when his parents decided to end their marriage and he and Zoya Akhtar lived with their mother.

He revealed that he developed a drinking habit and expressed regret for increasing his mother’s stress. “At that moment, when I saw the effect of that on her, and when it came to a head with her, she was just like, ‘Listen, I have tried my best with you, but I can’t. Maybe you should go and live with your dad for a bit.’ I felt like I failed her as a son. That was the first time I felt horrible in the pit of my stomach, like she didn’t deserve this.”

Meanwhile, Farhan Akhtar and Adhuna Bhabani decided to go their separate ways in 2016. They are parents to two daughters, Shakya and Akira. In 2022, Farhan Akhtar married actress Shibani Dandekar. On the other hand, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani were married from 1972 to 1985. They have two children, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar. Javed Akhtar is now married to actress Shabana Azmi.

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