When Zeenat Aman read about husband's extramarital affair during her first pregnancy: 'Marrying Mazhar Khan was a mistake'

Actress Zeenat Aman is set to make a comeback with her upcoming movie 'The Royals', starring Bhumi Pednekar and Ishaan Khatter. Zeenat’s personal journey took a significant turn when she married actor-producer Mazhar Khan in 1985. The wedding took place in a private ceremony in Singapore, much to the dismay of her mother. The actress once revealed that the marriage was a mistake.



Zeenat about marrying Mazhar

In a previous interview with Simi Garewal, she spoke candidly about the difficulty she faced in the early years of her marriage. “In the first year of marriage, I realised I had made a mistake, but since I had made the decision against everybody’s will, I decided to make it work. I’m not necessarily saying that it was the best thing for him either. It was a difficult time from the first year because I was pregnant with my first child and Mazhar was not there. There was a big article in Stardust magazine at that time about the woman that Mazhar was seeing,” she explained.




Mazhar's illness

Mazhar Khan, widely known for his roles in Shaan and Bombay Fantasy, was a successful actor-producer. Zeenat shared that after her son was born, she wanted to leave but chose to stay for her child's sake, doing everything she could to make the marriage work despite the challenges.


She thought of returning to work when her younger son was five years old, but out of the blue, Mazhar fell ill. She spent almost five years helping him and battling for his life. Mazhar’s health showed some improvement, but his battle with addiction to prescription drugs eventually led to his untimely death from kidney failure. “I tried everything under the sun. We were in and out of every hospital in Mumbai. I learned how to give injections, to do dressings. He was living with a bag outside his body for 18 months; I learned how to change that bag. I did everything there was to do. I flew overseas and found the best doctor. When that thing was over and the problem was sorted, it had taken a toll on me. I was very close to a nervous breakdown,” she added.


Zeenat expressed that as Mazhar's addiction worsened, she couldn’t watch him destroy himself. Despite leaving, she still cared and felt no guilt, believing most women wouldn’t have endured as much as she did.

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