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Honey Irani is an Indian actress and filmmaker who is best known for being the ex-wife of the noted Indian poet and screenwriter Javed Akhtar.
Wiki/Biography
Honey Irani was born on 25 August 1955 (age 68 years; as of 2024), in Mumbai. Her zodiac sign is Virgo.
Honey Irani In Her Childhood
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 2″
Weight: 85 kg
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Grey
Family, Caste & Wife
She was born in a Zoroastrian family to Noshir Irani and Perin Irani. She is the youngest of her five siblings, namely, Menka, Bunny, Sarosh, and Daisy.
Irani Siblings
Honey got married to Javed Akhtar in the year 1972, which ended in the year 1985. The duo had 2 children Zoya Akhtar, born in 1972 and Farhan Akhtar, born in 1974; both of them are successful filmmakers.
Honey Irani With Javed Akhtar And their Two Children Zoya And Farhan
Honey was also engaged to Raj Hans in 1993 and Raj Nanvag in 1988. Honey is the maternal aunt of the film-makers Sajid Khan and Farah Khan.
Left To Right: Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Sajid Khan
She also has grandaughters Shakya and Akira.
Farhan Akhtar With Ex-wife And Two Daughters Shakya and Akira
Career
Honey Irani, began as a child actress in movies like “Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan” and “Bombay Ka Chor.”
She has acted in over 72 films. After her divorce with Javed Akhtar, she started her career as a screenwriter with the movie Lamhe (1991). Her directorial debut was with the movie Armaan (2003). Her blockbuster movies as a screenwriter include Koi… Mil Gaya (2003) series, Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, and many more.
Awards
Filmfare Awards
- Best Story for the film Lamhe in 1992
- Best Story for the film Kya Kehna in 2001
- Best Screenplay for the film Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai in 2002
Favourite Things
- Film Genre: Romantic and Emotional
Facts
- She has worked in numerous movie projects with Meena Kumari as a child actress. She says that Meena Kumari was like her mother. She would clean her, dress her, feed her and play with her.
Meena Kumari with Honey Irani
- She met her ex-husband, poet and screenwriter Javed Akhtar on the sets of Seeta Aur Geeta.
- The story of how Javed proposed Honey is funny. It was on the sets of “Seeta Aur Geeta” when everybody was playing cards. Honey said that she would pull a card for Javed Akhtar. Javed Akhtar replied humorously that if the card was good, he would marry her. The card turned out to be good and hence, the marriage was declared.
- When they got married, Javed was still a newbie in the Industry. They had no home to live. They were given a place to live in Irani’s older married sister Menaka’s home.
- After the marriage, Honey became a devoted homemaker and spent her days nurturing her children. Unfortunately, the marriage ended in divorce after Javed got involved with the actress Shabana Azmi.
- After the divorce, Honey also got alimony from Javed. However, soon she had to face financial constraints, and for subsistence, she started doing embroidery on Sarees.
- At the same time, she started writing short stories and poems, but never shared them to anyone.
- She has worked as an assistant director with the director Ramesh Talwar.
- She showed one of the scripts to Pam Chopra, wife of Yash Chopra, for TV series. The script was approved by Yash Chopra but was developed into a movie. The movie was “Aaina.”
- She had taken her script of the film “Aaina” first to the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), but the film got rejected.
- After years of the breakup, Honey is still a good friend to Javed. She said that on Javed’s birthday, she, along with her children, go to visit him. She also says,
Shabana and I greet each other. It’s cordial. There’s a lot of respect. That’s it. But it’s not as if we are Sahelis. Not at all.”