Wow! Javed Akhtar recollects proposing to a French woman before meeting Shabana Azmi, reconnecting after 38 years; Says ‘Many years later… I told her to not go away

MUMBAI: Actress Shabana Azmi is the happy spouse of lyricist Javed Akhtar. Thirteen years passed during his first marriage to Honey Irani. However, Javed had proposed to Frenchwoman Joseanne, whom he had met on the sets of Rajesh Khanna's 1977 film Tyaag, before he had ever seen any of them. Javed Akhtar stated that he had visited the Tyaag sets of Rajesh Khanna in order to talk about the script for Haathi Mere Saathi. It was during this conversation that he sparked up an interesting talk with a French woman working on the sets.

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He met the same girl who was a backup artist in the cast a few days later when he visited the sets of another movie, Andaaz. Javed Akhtar said, “A few days later, we went on sets of Andaaz of Sippy films and there was a party scene, and lo and behold, the same girl was there. Sometimes it feels like life is organising something. So we became friends and after that, she told me that she along with her friends lives in Rex hotel, behind the Taj Mahal hotel. She asked me to meet her after the shoot so I went to meet her and she introduced me to other friends and we became good friends. After a few days, all her fellow boys and girls were going back but she stayed back.”

Then their daily meetings began, with each of them having to travel to the other's place. This didn't seem like an economical plan, though, and Javed's pocket began to burn. “From Taj till Bandra, the taxi used to charge Rs 14. One day I realised what was happening. So I told her either she should go back or marry me. She said ‘I will go back but I don’t have the money’. So, I said ‘don’t worry about that, I will take care of it’. Whatever money I had I bought her ticket and she left,” recalls Javed Akhtar.

According to Javed, Joseanne also wrote him a letter after she moved out, but he was unable to respond to it and ultimately misplaced both the letter and his sole way of communicating with her. Javed continued living his life, raising a family, and advancing his career over the years. However, after 38 years, he and Joseanne were reconciled.

The lyricist remembers that happy time, “Many years later I was invited to launch the Kaala Ghoda festival and me and Shabana reached and we were going towards the stage and a voice came in my years, ‘Javed‘. A French accent is different. The way she used to take my name was different. I turned and a lady was standing there, wearing glasses. I asked ‘Joseanne?’ and she said ‘yes’. I told her to not go away. When they asked me to speak, I thanked them for giving me this honour and thanked them that because of them I got a chance to meet a friend after 38 years and I introduced them and the whole crowd stood up and clapped for her.”

When Javed traveled to Paris to see Joseanne again, he realized that this was the most special portion of their reunion. “She told me that she has three daughters and next time I went to Paris I took gifts for everyone. Her partner, all three daughters had come to meet me because they knew about me. Then she said, ‘wait a minute’. She went inside and came back and gave me the boarding card which was 38 years old. She said I still have the boarding card with me,” Javed Akhtar remarked, sounding nostalgic.

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Credits – The Indian Express