Farhan Akhtar’s journey through life has been deeply shaped by his experiences with family and marriage. Born to celebrated writers Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani in the early 1970s, Farhan’s early years were marked by the separation of his parents in 1978, which culminated in their divorce in 1985. This experience, as Farhan recently revealed, had a profound impact on his own approach to relationships and marriage.
During a candid conversation with journalist Faye D’Souza, Farhan opened up about how his childhood, spent with divorced parents, influenced his decision to end his first marriage with Adhuna Bhabani. When asked if his childhood made it difficult to navigate his own divorce, Farhan reflected on the emotional complexities involved. He explained that having lived through his parents’ divorce, he was acutely aware of the potential impact his own separation could have on his children.
He shared, “It was difficult. A certain aspect of it was of course that 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 own kids. I felt that it came to a place that if Adhuna and myself spoke to them openly and honestly, and explain to them why we are taking this kind of step, that it doesnt have anything to do with them. It’s not because of them, it’s not because of anything they did, they said, or because they are here.”
He added, “This is something between two grown up people, who as friends decided that this is something that they want to do. That’s the best we could do, but it’s something that I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life. It’s never going to entire 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 had happened to me as a kid played a huge role in how I feel about it now”.
Farhan and Adhuna married in 2000 and had two daughters, Shakya and Akira. Despite their efforts to maintain a harmonious family environment, the couple decided to part ways in 2016, finalising their divorce the following year. Farhan shared that, although he and Adhuna approached the situation with honesty and openness towards their children, the decision to divorce was not taken lightly. He expressed the lingering concern of whether his children “deserved” the experience, a thought that continues to resonate with him.
On the professional front, Farhan is currently preparing for his directorial return with ‘Don 3,’ set to release in 2025. This highly anticipated film will see Ranveer Singh take on the iconic role, continuing the legacy of the ‘Don’ franchise, which Farhan successfully rebooted in 2006. As he navigates both his personal and professional life, Farhan Akhtar remains a figure of resilience and reflection, drawing from his past to shape his present and future.
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