Javed Akhtar 's ex-wife and Farhan Akhtar , Zoya Akhtar 's mother is quite a strong woman herself. While she's been away from the limelight, she's been one of the most talented writers herself. She's best known for writing some iconic movies like 'Lamhe', 'Darr', 'Kya Kehna', 'Kaho Naa..Pyaar Hai', 'Krrish' and more. While Honey has chosen to stay away from the limelight largely, unlike the rest of her family who gets more attention, she's largely influenced her children in who they turned out to be and to always stand up for the right.
Farhan Akhtar recently recounted a powerful childhood memory involving his mother that deeply influenced his moral compass. Speaking with Prakhar Gupta, the actor-filmmaker recalled an incident from the 1980s that revealed Honey’s fearless nature and her uncompromising attitude toward injustice—especially when it came to violence against women .
“This happened in the '80s, and she was driving somewhere. She loved self-driving,” Farhan began, painting a vivid picture of the scene. “She was behind a rickshaw. Meanwhile, a woman was crossing the road, and she stopped on the divider, waiting for the vehicles to pass. Seeing the woman, the person who was in the rickshaw put his hand out and groped her. My mom stopped her car immediately. She (the victim) was crying, and my mom told her to come with her in the car.”
But Honey Irani didn’t stop at comforting the distressed woman. What she did next left a lasting impression on her young son. “She made her sit in the car and started following the rickshaw. Upon catching up, she stopped the rickshaw, pulled the guy (perpetrator) out and gave him three to four slaps. She also toppled over his vehicle. Afterwards, she dropped that woman off at home,” Farhan recounted, a hint of admiration still present in his voice.
Farhan further added how the incident stood out, especially because of how unconventional his mother’s response was for that time. “You don’t imagine women getting into scraps on the road. So, I was blown away by that episode. It also gave me insight into when to stand up in situations like this. You can’t be like, ‘arrey, how sad’ and move on. That was a key turning moment in my psyche. It was not just about my understanding of her, but also in terms of what she represented in that moment to that woman as well.”
On work front, Farhan will be seen next in '120 Bahadur'.