When Javed Akhtar said he was attracted to Shabana Azmi ‘much before he told it to himself’

Lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has been happily married to actor Shabana Azmi for more than three-and-a-half decades. During an appearance on Rendezvous With Simi Garewal in 2000, he talked about always being drawn to her, even when they were not very well acquainted.

As Javed turns 77, here is looking back at the time he fielded a question about the ‘first moment when he knew he loved Shabana.

“Much before I told it to myself, I was really fascinated by her. I don’t know why. When I didn’t know her much, then too, she used to attract me. There was something about her that was always fascinating. It’s very difficult for me to decide what was the precise moment when I fell in love with her. I can’t think of a time when I knew this name, I knew this person, even remotely, and I was not attracted to her,” he said.

Shabana chalked it up to the fact that she and Javed have very ‘similar backgrounds’. She also opened up about the moment she knew he was the one for her. “Quite soon after I got to know him. Firstly, he used to make me laugh a lot, I used to keep laughing all the time. I enjoyed his company. I find him very stimulating, I find him to be one of the most intelligent men I have met, so I enjoyed his company very much and that, I think, led to love,” she said.

Also read: Shabana Azmi reveals what happens during her fights with Javed Akhtar

Javed was married to actor and screenwriter Honey Irani, with whom he shares son Farhan Akhtar and daughter Zoya Akhtar, when he fell for Shabana. Javed and Honey separated in 1978 and he tied the knot with Shabana in 1984.