Veteran lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar has been often vocal about his personal life. He believes alcohol has eaten up a significant portion of his life which he could have utilized in a much better way. He revealed that too much alcohol consumption has impacted his decision making which eventually led to major mistakes. One such misstep he took was a divorce from his first wife Honey Iraani. He regrets wasting 10 years of drinking and failing of first marriage. 

Javed Akhtar recently opened up about his battle with alcoholism. He spoke about how his ‘irresponsible attitude’ was the reason behind the failure of his first marriage. The veteran lyricist, in an interview with Sapan Verma for his YouTube channel, admitted that his marriage with Honey Irani failed since he once used to be a drunkard.

In an interview with Sapan Verma for his YouTube Channel, Akhtar advised youth to stop alcohol consumption. He said, “I have wasted a lot of time drinking. I was a drunkard. I left drinking on July 31, 1991. I feel I have wasted a grand total of at least 10 years just drinking. I could have used that time for a much positive and constructive purpose. I will advise young people, if you drink, stop it, because when I look at my life, I have not made any major mistake in my life without drinking.” 

He went on to add, “I regret the failure of my first marriage. It could have been saved. But it was my irresponsible attitude, my drinking… When you are drunk, you take impulsive decisions, you start fighting about certain things which are not such big issues. Ye sab galtiyaan toh hui hai mujhse.”

Before marrying Shabana Azmi, he had a failed marriage with Honey Irani. He has 2 children Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar from first wife Honey. He married Shabana Azmi in 1984 and called off his first marriage in 1985. He last appeared on the Amazon Prime Video docuseries Angry Young Men which chronicles the journey dynamic writer duo Salim-Javed.