Zeba Bakhtiar recalls her custody battle with Adnan Sami: ‘I lost my mind, it was very difficult’

Zeba Bakhtiar has recalled how difficult it was to go through the period when she separated from her former husband Adnan Sami, and said that she did not want to act after marriage. However, she began working in showbiz when the marriage did not work out, the Henna star has said in a new interview with Aamna Haider Isani. (Also read: Rishi Kapoor’s Heena co-star Zeba Bakhtiar remembers him)

Adnan and Zeba’s tumultuous marriage

Adnan Sami and Zeba Bakhtiar got married in 1993 and got separated soon in 1997. During their custody battle for their son, Zeba had alleged that Pakistani and UAE officials were not cooperating with her. She even appealed to a Canadian court for her child’s custody and immigration officials stormed his house to hand over her son to her. Adnan filed a defamation suit against Zeba.

Zeba on the stress of the legal battles

Asked how she handled the stress of an ugly and long custody battle against singer and former husband Adnan Sami, Zeba said that she was on the verge of wrapping films when she married Adnan and had no interest in continuing acting. She wanted to write and produce later. She said, “Then I married Adnan and Azaan was born, I was totally invested in that. But when the marriage didn’t work out, I started doing productions and other projects. I lost my mind. I was functioning because that coping mechanism comes from somewhere, but I was not all there. I have got big patches which I don’t remember. It was very difficult.”

Zeba also said that she is thankful she could get back with Azaan after an 18-month-long custody battle. She also got back to acting after her friends suggested she must work to save her sanity.

Zeba on breaking marriage

She said in the same interview, “No woman ever breaks a marriage because she wants to break it. She does it when she reaches that point…you know, a point where you cannot take beyond that. When you absolutely have to. It is never like ‘I am going to be a cool and empowered woman and I will leave home’. No! It is because I have tried, and tried everything in my capacity, everything I knew, and tested all my patience and endurance. I did everything I could possibly do to save the relationship, but I am not reaching the point where this is going in any positive direction for either one of us.”

Zeba said that people are taught to try and make things work, even when things are not going the way they should. She also said that we are not taught survival skills. People always learn when put in the situation, she said, adding that one needs to find the solution and help within oneself, instead of looking for help outside and in someone else.

Zeba’s career

After working in popular Pakistani TV shows such as Anarkali in the late 1980s, Zeba made her Bollywood debut with Rishi Kapoor’s Henna in 1991. She featured in a few other movies including Mohabbat Ki Arzoo, Jai Vikraanta, Stuntman and Muqadama (1996) but soon returned to Pakistan.