Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has opened up about his children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, and reflected on their upbringing, values and professional journeys. In a recent interview, Javed gave much of the credit for their formative years to his former wife, Honey Irani, while maintaining that both Farhan and Zoya built their careers through their own efforts.Speaking about his children and their achievements, Javed said he takes pride in the way they have established themselves without depending on their parents.“Well, I am proud of them because not that they are successful, they are doing well, they are living well but they have achieved all this strictly on their own. No thanks to the parents. They have done it on their own,” he said in an interview with Lets Talk With DevnaG.He went on to explain that his pride comes not merely from their success but from the manner in which they have achieved it. According to Javed, neither Farhan nor Zoya compromised their creative standards or dignity in their pursuit of fame and recognition.“It’s not because of me. I have no contribution in their success honestly but at the same time what makes me proud is that they have achieved success by doing good work and decent work. They have not been desperate to achieve success, name, fame, money at any cost. They have not made pictures that are crude and vulgar by any stretch of imagination. They have their dignity and their dignity is in the work also. That makes me very happy.”Javed was also asked about raising children who respect their parents without being afraid of them. While he acknowledged his relationship with Farhan and Zoya, he made it clear that Honey played the more significant role during their childhood and formative years.“Major major credit goes to Honey; she has brought them up. When Honey and I parted, Zoya was perhaps 11, he was 9 and a half and these were the formative years.”Although Javed remained involved in his children’s lives and stayed in touch with them, Farhan and Zoya primarily lived with Honey during those crucial years. He credited her with teaching them how to navigate freedom, responsibility and personal values.“Honey saw to it that they understood what they should and shouldn’t do, what freedoms they should and shouldn’t have, and so on. She also ensured they understood what values and morals they should imbibe and what they should not accept. So, I think there are major major contributions of Honey in their development as people,” said Javed.The screenwriter, however, jokingly claimed some credit for another aspect of his children’s upbringing — their love for books. Javed recalled being an avid reader himself and said children often pick up habits by observing their parents.“I used to read much more than what I read today, much more than that. I used to read a lot and I think children do what you do. So, somehow this habit of reading and today I’m embarrassed to tell you they read more than me.”Javed also spoke about his decision not to impose a religious identity on his children while they were growing up. He recalled an incident involving a young Farhan, who returned from school one day and directly asked him whether their family was Muslim.“They were areligious because by that time, perhaps some other father would have given them some religion. By the time you are 11 or 12, you get a religion. I did not give them any religion at all. I remember Farhan was perhaps seven or eight years old and one day he came back from the school and his bag was on his shoulder. He came running to me because that was so important and he asked me, ‘Are we Muslims? So, I told him, ‘Listen, what happens is that when you are born, you are born in some city—Pune, Mumbai, Agra, Ahmedabad, London, New York, or wherever. You are born the same way. If you are born, you’ll be born in some community, but it is not important which city you were born in or which community, what is important is what you are. I mean, they are totally areligious.”Javed’s comments offer a glimpse into the values he and Honey sought to instil in their children, while also highlighting his belief that Farhan and Zoya’s accomplishments should be viewed independently of their family’s legacy in the Hindi film industry.
