Shabana Azmi recalls Javed Akhtar’s most romantic gift for 50th birthday, being touched by his gesture

Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary this year. The couple were married on December 9, 1984.

The actor revealed that she and Javed have maintained their good relationship over the years, largely because they are friends first and share the same worldview. While she has also said that the veteran lyricist is not romantic at heart, Shabana recently recalled how he surprised her with a beautiful gesture for her 50th birthday.

Javed Akhtar was earlier married to actor-screenwriter Honey Irani and they have two children, daughter Zoya Akhtar and son Farhan Akhtar. Shabana also revealed that while the two of them fight once in a while, they have the rule to drop their anger while fighting, in order to prevent something hurtful from being said to one another. Like Javed, she is also not romantic in nature but appreciated the efforts which he went to once to bring her something she admired from abroad.

Speaking to Pinkvilla, Shabana said, “I am not one to put any value on expensive gifts at all. But sometimes he does very beautiful things. There was a sculpture of Salvador Dali that I liked very much in London. He said, ‘Let’s get it.’ I said, ‘No no, it’s too expensive’ and left it.

Then I think on my 50th birthday, I found in my bedroom that sculpture with his poem Waqt, which was written in a very beautiful letter. He had gone through such limits that I shouldn’t get to know (about the surprise). That was what touched me, the effort he put into it. Otherwise, I don’t value gifts of that kind.”

The actor’s latest film What’s Love Got to Do with It? is currently in theatres. She reunites with her Masoom (1983) director Shekhar Kapur for the English film also starring Emma Thompson and Lily James. She plays a British-Asian mother Aisha who arranges for her son Kazim (Shazad Latif) to wed a girl back in Pakistan. Sajal Aly also stars in the film.

Shabana will also be seen in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani later this year. She stars in the film alongside Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Jaya Bachchan and Dharmendra.