The powerful and raw scene in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara where Imraan (Farhan Akhtar) confronts his biological father, Salman (Naseeruddin Shah), gains an added layer of emotional depth when considering the actor’s own complex relationship with his famous father, the legendary writer Javed Akhtar. While the film is a fictional narrative, the themes of seeking acceptance, dealing with emotional abandonment, and the pain of a fragmented family dynamic are ones that Farhan Akhtar could arguably draw from his own life experiences.
In the film, Imraan has grown up carrying the deep wound of abandonment. Salman, an artist, chose to leave Imraan’s mother and pursue his creative life, never looking back or forming a real connection with his son.
When Imraan finally meets Salman, he isn’t seeking a relationship; he’s seeking closure and an explanation. He needs to understand why he wasn’t enough to keep his father around.
Naseeruddin Shah’s cold, philosophical portrayal of Salman—who prioritizes his “truth” and art over parental responsibility—forces Imraan to face the painful reality that his father is not the loving figure he might have hoped for. This acceptance is the pivotal moment that allows Imraan to finally shed his lifelong resentment and emotional baggage.
Farhan Akhtar’s parents, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, divorced when he was very young. This separation meant that Farhan and his sister, Zoya (who directed ZNMD), primarily grew up with their mother. Javed Akhtar went on to marry the actress Shabana Azmi.
While the circumstances of Farhan’s childhood are different from Imraan’s complete abandonment—Javed Akhtar was certainly present in his children’s lives—the experience of a broken family and the potential emotional distance from a celebrated, busy parent who pursued his artistic calling is a thematic echo.
Just like Imraan, a child of divorce often spends years reconciling the love they have for a parent with the pain of not having a conventional, two-parent home. Both the fictional Salman and the real-life Javed Akhtar are successful, creative, and highly focused individuals whose professional lives demanded immense dedication, which can inevitably create a barrier or emotional distance in family life.
It’s been noted in interviews that it took time for Farhan and his father to find a mature, evolved relationship. The journey of moving past the initial pain and finding a way to connect as adults is a universal experience, and one that resonates deeply with Imraan’s storyline.
It is no coincidence that the director, Zoya Akhtar, and the actor/writer, Farhan Akhtar, both children of Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, chose to explore this specific and difficult theme of parental estrangement and abandonment in the film.
As an actor, Farhan brings an authentic, lived-in vulnerability to the role of Imraan. The quiet pain, the hesitant hope, and the eventual, devastating resignation on his face during the scene with Naseeruddin Shah feel incredibly genuine. It is widely speculated that he channeled the complexities and emotional residue of his own past to make Imraan’s pain palpable to the audience. To know such latest updates, stay tuned to tellyboosters.com Thank you!
