After Shabana, Javed Akhtar Gets The Swine Flu

Scarcely has Shabana Azmi snapped  out old  her swine flu attack  than  her husband Javed Akhtar has been diagnosed with the same  ailment.

And Shabana  who , like her husband, maintains  a sense  of humour through adversity, can’t stop smiling  over the irony of having  to deal with a swine-flu spouse on Valentine’s Day .

“Luckily, he doesn’t need to be  hospitalized.His  preventive  medication had started when  I was diagnosed  with swine flu.So it’s a milder attack.We are taking care  of it at home,” says Shabana.

Not so  luckily Javed Saab’s daughter Zoya Akhtar’s film Gully Boy’s release coincided with his health issue. So the proud father hasn’t been able to see  the  film that everyone is talking about.

“But he’s reading and hearing great things.And feeling very happy and proud,” says Shabana,

Zoya has always been Javed Akhtar’s favourite child.

In an  interview to this  writer  Javed Saab had spoken  about Zoya commenting, “ In  Zoya I see a lot of myself. I think she has a logical mind. She thinks out of the box and doesn’t get easily swayed by others’ opinions. She comes to her own conclusions in life and sticks by them. I must confess I am not as transparent and straightforward as she is.”

 Not that  Javed Saab’s son Farhan Akhtar makes  him any less  proud. “Both my children Farhan and Zoya make me extremely happy and proud. Zoya doesn’t have one dishonest bone in her entire body. She just doesn’t lie. That’s an amazing trait.Right from her childhood, Zoya called  a spade a spade. There is a very strong sense of objectivity to her. She doesn’t give in to arguments just to maintain peace. She will make a point about what is right , and that’s it. She won’t make an issue of it.”

So whom is he  closer to among his two children?“It’s very difficult to decide. Suppose I was to ask you whom are you closer to among your two parents what would you say? But yes, I share different equations with Farhan and Zoya. With Farhan I speak man-to-man . Obviously I can’t do the same  with Zoya. Zoya takes her own decisions. She takes my opinion seriously. I am proud to say there is no sign of my work in Zoya’s work.”