Rocky Aur Ranii Ki Prem Kahanni star Shabana Azmi talks about her 38-year-old relationship with Javed Akhtar

No relationship has been perfect since its inception. It has to be made perfect with time and hard work. This is true for everybody from various walks of life including celebrity couple Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi.

Recently, in an interview with Filmfare, she spilled beans about her happy 38-year-old relationship with filmmaker Javed Akhtar. She did not shy away from accepting that the couple often fight over minuscule topics but later, helped their relationship grow stronger as a couple.

Speaking to the portal she says, “I was never a romantic, to begin with. I saw my parents’ marriage, which started with a lot of romance and then evolved into a friendship. So, what I have valued greatly is friendship. And to have love without respect is possibly not even possible.”

She further added, “For me, respect is an important part of love. Also, I believe in giving your partner space. I think it is important for people to have their own space outside of that love; otherwise, we can tend to suffocate it. But if you have a happy relationship, as I have with Javed (Akhtar), then it is one of the most nurturing relationships that can exist. Javed and I have huge fights and want to kill each other but at the end of the day, respecting the other person is important. We have the same worldview.”

On the work front, Shabana will next be seen in the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. In the film, Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt will be playing lead roles and the film will also mark the return of ace filmmaker Karan Johar as a director after seven years. Johar last directed the film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.