Veteran actress Shabana Azmi is celebrating her 74th birthday today, i.e. September 18. On this special occasion, we’re revisiting a heartfelt revelation made by her in an old interview. The actress had once credited her husband Javed Akhtar’s wife Honey Irani for her healthy relationship with Zoya and Farhan Akhtar.

During a conversation with Twinkle Khanna in 2021 on the Tweak India YouTube channel, Shabana Azmi revealed that her parents were not in favor of her relationship with Javed Akhtar. The Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani reasoned that it was tough as he was a married man and had children.

The veteran actress had thus asserted why people shouldn’t speculate. “It’s difficult enough for the people involved, and then just for gossip’s sake. And obviously, people are going to say, ‘You call yourself a feminist and then how have you got yourself in this situation?’,” she mentioned.

Azmi continued by emphasizing how she had a choice back then to explain her point of view and justify her action. However, she didn’t do that and maintained a silence, considering it would lead to more speculations and gossip about the steps taken by her. She had faith in the fact that people would come to know, and that is exactly what happened.

Ananya Panday was among the scores of celebrities who attended Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding, earlier this year. Since she is close to the newly-wedded couple, the actress was part of the events, and danced her heart out at the baraat, among other pre-wedding festivities. But looking at the enthusiasm of B-town stars at the event, there were speculations of them being paid to attend the high-profile wedding. In an interview, the Call Me Bae finally opened up about her joyful dancing and expressed her displeasure with the rumors.

While talking to Mashable India, Ananya Panday stated that since Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are her pals, she wholeheartedly took part in all their wedding events and this is also why she was papped dancing enthusiastically at the wedding procession of the groom. Opining about the rumors that celebs might have been paid to attend and dance at the gala, she said, “I don’t understand why people think like that. Obviously, I will be dancing wholeheartedly at my friends’ weddings.” The starlet also added that she loves celebrating love.

Further on, the Dream Girl 2 actress spoke about the bond that the newly wedded couple share. She divulged that despite the fact that so much was happening at the wedding and scores of people were coming to congratulate them, whenever Anant and Radhika would look at each other, it would be “pure love” and this is her big takeaway. Ananya continued that it felt like violins were playing behind them and this is something she wants in life too “that no matter how much chaos is around, you and that person share that connection” she expressed.

In the same chat, the Student Of The Year 2 debutant spoke about the atmosphere at the grand Ambani wedding hosted in Mumbai in July 2024. According to Panday, the billionaire family made everyone feel welcome. No matter how many functions were there to attend, they made sure to greet everyone with love and warmth. She thinks that it’s a beautiful quality as it makes everything feel very personal.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ananya Panday will be next seen in Vikramaditya Motwane and Avinash Sampath’s CTRL with Vihaan Samat. The thriller is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on October 4, 2024.