When Shabana Azmi said Javed Akhtar doesn't 'have a single romantic bone', revealed secret of their marriage

Shabana Azmi turned a year older on Saturday. The actor, who is married to Javed Akhtar, once revealed the secret behind their happy marriage.

Shabana Azmi turns 71 on Saturday, September 18. The veteran actor is not only known for her performances but she has also made a difference as a social activist. She was also a nominated member of Rajya Sabha. Amid these achievements, Shabana often made headlines for her marriage with Javed Akhtar.

Shabana Azmi, who turned 71 on Saturday, has been married to Javed Akhtar. 

The couple married in 1984 and has been together for over 36 years now. While Shabana often shares pictures with the writer-lyricist on social media platforms, the actor had once revealed the secret behind her healthy marriage.

Speaking with Filmfare in 2016, Shabana revealed that the secret of her marriage is that they never meet. “(The secret is) that Javed and I never meet. So where’s the question of fighting? Girls come up to me saying, ‘You’re married to a man who writes such romantic songs. How romantic must he be!’ I say he doesn’t have a single romantic bone in his body,” she said.

“His logic is, if you’re a circus artiste and if you perform trapeze, do you hang upside down in your own house too? There’s nothing romantic about our relationship. But it’s based on mutual respect and friendship. Javed often says, ‘Shabana is such a good friend of mine that even marriage couldn’t destroy our friendship’. We’re friends; we have the same world view. In many ways, he’s like my father. In fact our backgrounds are so similar; I often say that we could have had an arranged marriage,” she added.

Shabana was born to Urdu poet and scholar Kaifi Azmi and stage actor Shaukat Azmi in Hyderabad. After making her debut as an actor in Bollywood, Shabana carved a niche in parallel cinema. She has won five National Film Awards for Best Actress for her performances in Ankur, Arth, Khandhar, Paar and Godmother.

She was last seen in Sheer Qorma and The Empire. She will be seen in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Directed by Karan Johar, the film will also star Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan. Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt will be leading the film.