India, Aug. 30 -- Veteran actor Shabana Azmi has opened up about her marriage to writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, saying their shared worldview and strong friendship have sustained them despite "huge fights". Speaking to Zoom, the 75-year-old said she was drawn to his "wit and intelligence" and saw similarities between him and her father, poet Kaifi Azmi. "They have exactly the same kind of background. Their parents were progressive writers and were from the communist party. They loved Urdu poetry. Many people thought that ours should have been an arranged marriage. There are huge fights that Javed and I have. It's not like it's hunky dory. But our friendship is so strong, and our worldview is the same. Our ideologies are the same. That's what I feel is important," she said. Azmi also described Akhtar as someone who is "comfortable with any company", has "a very good ability to communicate with people" and is "a very fair person". Akhtar married actor-screenwriter Honey Irani in 1972; they separated in 1978. He married Azmi in 1984, while his divorce from Irani was finalised in 1985. They have two children, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar and actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar. On the other hand, Azmi and Akhtar have no children together. Azmi also praised Irani for maintaining a healthy relationship with her and her children. "Because for me, Honey is like a member of the family. She is like a sibling to Javed. Our relationship is very healthy. She never filled the children's ears with hatred against me. She never badmouths her husband in front of their children. She didn't try to divide the children," she said, calling Irani "a very sensible person" whom she has "deep respect" for.HTC...