Farhan Akhtar, in a candid conversation on Prakhar Gupta’s podcast, revisited a striking incident from his childhood that forever changed how he viewed his mother, screenwriter and actor Honey Irani. Recalling an event from the 1980s, Farhan shared that he was deeply moved when he saw his mother stand up against street harassment in the most fearless way.
As narrated by Farhan, Honey was driving when she noticed a man in a rickshaw groping a woman standing on a divider. “My mom stopped, made the lady who was crying sit in her car, followed the rickshaw, took the guy out, gave him 3-4 slaps and toppled the rickshaw. She then dropped the lady home,” he said.
Though the moment seemed startling at the time, it left a lasting impression on him. “That incident, in my mind back then, was a very unmotherly thing. You don’t imagine women getting into scraps on the road. I was blown away by the whole thing,” Farhan admitted. He further added, “It gave me an insight that if you see something like this, you have to stand up. You can’t just be like, arre, how sad, and move on.”
Farhan described it as a pivotal moment that reshaped his understanding of his mother and the strength she embodied. “It broke the image I had of her in a great way.” Honey Irani began her career as a child actor and went on to become a celebrated screenwriter with credits like Lamhe, Darr, and Laawaaris. She was married to Javed Akhtar and is the mother of Zoya and Farhan Akhtar. Farhan, who was last seen in Toofan, will next appear in 120 Bahadur.
