Farhan Akhtar speaks about how his parents Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani's divorce affected him: ‘I got very defensive post my parents’ separation’

Farhan Akhtar has recently opened up about how his parents’ Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani's divorce affected him as a child. Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani parted ways in 1985, and it had a massive impact on their children, especially Farhan Akhtar, who was younger.

Farhan Akhtar and his wife Shibani Dandekar, recently appeared on Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast, where Farhan opened up about how his parents’ divorce affected him. He stated that his parents’ separation was a ‘defining moment’ for him, as that changed his entire view about things. He stated that that the separation made him go further into his ‘shell’ as being the younger one, he really didn’t know what was going on.

The actor-filmmaker said that his sister Zoya Akhtar was a lot more ‘aware of what was going on’, as she was the elder one and so she shielded him from the grief their mother was going through at that point in time. Farhan Akhtar also recalled how their mother was more comfortable talking to Zoya, as she was a girl, and has ‘always been older and wiser than her age’

Farhan also stated that he got ‘very defensive’ post his parents’ separation because other kids were being pretty mean when they had fights. He recalled how kids don’t have that filter so they end up saying anything that can hurt him, unaware of the psychological or emotional damage. He expressed that this part made him angry and think, “Why do I have to hear this?”

Farhan Akhtar also said that the biggest effect of the separation on him was on his personality, and it made him ‘completely non-confrontational’. He recalled how his initial instinct when a conflict arises was to move away, and disconnect completely, and instead of sitting and finding a solution for the problem or even understanding the problem, he would not even want to be there.


On the work front, Farhan Akhtar will be next seen in ‘120 Bahadur’.
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