Shabana Azmi revealed that Javed Akhtar was addicted to alcohol but one day he decided to not drink anymore. The veteran actress claimed that since that day the renowned Bollywood lyricist never touched alcohol. She also called his willpower ‘incredible’. Shabana even said that she does not have that kind of willpower like Javed Akhtar. 

In an interview with Arbaaz Khan for The Invincibles, Shabana said “He knew that if I go on like this, I won’t live for long and I won’t be able to do my work creatively… We were in a flat in London. He was stinking of alcohol and I said ‘Oh my god, this is going to be one of those trips. Very quietly he told me ‘Make me some breakfast’. He had breakfast and after that he told me, ‘I am not going to drink anymore’.”

“I didn’t say anything. I just said ‘Means?’ He said ‘I am not going to drink anymore’. He had never said this before and from that day, he has not touched (alcohol). It is impossible for me to have the kind of willpower he has,” she added. She also called Javed Akhtar’s willpower ‘incredible’. 

At the 2023 summit of ABP Ideas of India, Javed Akhtar said “Obviously, she was not in love with me because I was drinking. She was in love with in spite of my drinking.” He added that Shabana was “very happy” when he stopped drinking. “I released yeh bevakoofi hai jo main kar raha hun. Isme koi glamour nahi hai, koi dignity nahi hai, koi charm nahi hai. (I realised what I was doing was stupid. There is no glamour, dignity or charm in this).”  In that same interview, the lyricist claimed that he had a big bottle of rum on 31st July 1991 and since 1st August, he gave up drinking. 

On the work front, Shabana Azmi will be next seen in a web series Dabba Cartel. Directed by Hitesh Bhatia, the show features Jyotika, Shalini Pandey, Sai Tamhankar, Nimisha Sajayan, Anjali Anand, Gajraj Rao, Jisshu Sengupta in key roles. Dabba Cartel has been produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidwani’s Excel Entertainment. It will be streaming on Netflix.

Also read: Shabana Azmi Sheds Light On Changing Scenarios Of Women In Bollywood; Credits Alia Bhatt And Deepika Padukone For It

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