The Sanjay Khan and Zeenat Aman relationship has long been remembered as one of Bollywood's most talked about and most painful chapters, a story that did not just affect two film stars but pulled an entire family through years of emotional turmoil. Several accounts of that relationship and its difficult end have surfaced over the years. Sanjay Khan's daughter, Farah Khan Ali, has now opened up about that period, sharing several details that had never been spoken about publicly before, especially the phase when her mother, Zarine Katrak Khan, was left shattered by the fallout of the relationship.
Farah Khan Ali addressed all the allegations levelled at her father in a conversation with Vicky Lalwani. She said she was only around 9 or 10 years old when the entire controversy first broke out, so her own memories of that time are hazy at best. Even so, she was firm in rejecting the stories that have circulated on social media for years, calling them completely untrue.
How the affair nearly ended her parents' marriage
Farah did not shy away from admitting that her father's alleged affair with Zeenat Aman had a devastating effect on his marriage to her mother, Zarine Katrak Khan. According to Farah, it was an extremely painful period for the entire family, one that came close to ending her parents' relationship altogether. She admitted that the pain of that period still feels vivid to her, even though she was very young when it unfolded and had to piece much of it together later.
Zarine left home for three months after Zayed's birth
Recalling that difficult chapter, Farah said her mother showed extraordinary courage. Right after the birth of her younger brother, Zayed Khan, Zarine Khan took a bold step and left home for a full three months, leaving Zayed and the rest of the family in Sanjay Khan's care. Farah said that when her mother returned three months later, Sanjay Khan saw a completely different woman in her, someone far more confident, independent and capable of standing on her own feet. Farah believes this was the real turning point that eventually brought Sanjay Khan back to his family and his wife.
'My father cannot raise his hand on anyone'
Speaking candidly on camera, Farah addressed the story that keeps resurfacing on social media, the claim that her father beat Zeenat Aman and caused an injury to her eye. She called it complete nonsense. Farah said her father has never once raised a hand on her mother or on any of his daughters to this day. She added that Sanjay Khan is simply not the kind of violent person who would ever raise a finger at a woman, and said she could state this with complete confidence, having grown up watching him closely.
A new claim about Zeenat Aman's eye injury
Farah also put forward a fresh claim about Zeenat Aman's eye injury. She said her mother had told her that Zeenat Aman's own mother suffered from an eye condition and that Zeenat Aman's eye was also smaller than usual, meaning the issue was genetic rather than the result of anything reported in the media over the years. Farah added that her mother was the most honest person in the world and had always maintained that her husband never laid a hand on Zeenat Aman. Farah said she was glad she could finally clear this up on camera, so that a decades old misunderstanding could be put to rest for good.
Rumours of a clash between Zarine and Zeenat also denied
Farah also dismissed old rumours claiming that her mother, Zarine, and Zeenat Aman had once physically clashed or fought with each other. She questioned whether anyone could genuinely believe her mother would confront another woman and hit her. Farah said her mother was an extremely elegant and graceful person, and insisted that this story too was entirely fabricated and baseless.
Zarine told her children the truth about the affair herself
According to Farah, her mother never chose bitterness during this difficult period and never spoke ill of anyone publicly. Farah recalled that when her mother eventually spoke to the children about it, she told them that their father had been attracted to Zeenat Aman, so she did not blame Zeenat alone, since the attraction had existed on both sides. Zarine also told her children that there may have been something lacking in her own marriage at the time. Farah concluded by making clear that her mother was never someone who spoke badly about others, which is part of why she chose to stay silent on the controversy throughout her life. Farah's interview is now being seen as an attempt to clear up several long standing misconceptions tied to that old controversy, decades after it first made headlines.
