‘Sanjay Khan had no right to raise his hand on Zeenat Aman’: Raza Murad recalls turbulent phase | Bollywood News

Recalling her childhood, Raza said Zeenat’s parents separated when she was young, and she spent time living with both of them. He suggested that the separation had an impact on her childhood, particularly because she was an only child.

“Unfortunately, her parents separated. The effects of growing up in a broken home inevitably fall on children. She would stay with her father, and then her mother would take her away. She loved her father a lot, and he loved her dearly too,” he said, recalling those years.

Zeenat Aman made her Bollywood debut with Hulchul. (Photo: Express Archive)

Raza further shared that Zeenat was sent to a convent school in Panchgani, where she felt quite lonely. With her parents living separately and eventually marrying other people, she grew up without a stable family environment.

“She was a single child, and her parents had separated, so a sense of loneliness naturally crept in. She did not get to experience a settled family environment. Her mother lived separately, and her father lived separately,” he added.

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Raza Murad on the alleged assault involving Sanjay Khan

Raza also spoke about the widely reported incident involving Zeenat Aman and Sanjay Khan, which allegedly left the actress with lasting damage to her right eye.

According to Raza, Zeenat had travelled from Lonavala to Mumbai before a confrontation with Sanjay at a hotel. He said the incident involved violence and affected her eye.

“She had rushed from Lonavala to Mumbai, and a confrontation took place there. It was a violent incident, because of which her eye was affected,” Raza said.

Speaking about relationships involving married partners, Raza said people should consider the potential consequences before entering such a relationship. Sanjay was married to Zarine Khan at the time.

“When you marry someone who is already married and has children, you have to think about it. You also need to prepare yourself mentally for the repercussions,” he said.

He went on to stress that violence against women is unacceptable, regardless of the circumstances.

“Whatever happened was wrong. You have no right to raise your hand against a woman,” Raza said.

Zeenat Aman and Sanjay Khan. (Photo: Express Archive)

The incident has been reported extensively over the years. Zeenat and Sanjay were married in 1978, but their marriage was short-lived. Sanjay Khan’s daughter Farah had previously confirmed that her father had indeed married Zeenat while was already married to her mother Zarine. Reports have linked the assault to an incident at a Mumbai hotel, where Zeenat reportedly sustained serious injuries to her right eye.

Over the years, Zeenat has spoken about experiencing physical abuse without naming the person involved in some of her public remarks. In a 1999 appearance on Simi Garewal’s show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, she described how she dealt with the painful experience.

“For many years, in my mind, it’s been obliterated because I think that’s what the human mind does. When there is something distinctly unpleasant, you just close your mind to it and pretend that it never happened and you promise yourself that it will never happen again. And that’s how you cope,” she said.

Zeenat has also spoken about the lasting impact of her eye injury. In a later Instagram post, she explained that the injury had caused her eyelid to droop and obstructed her vision.

Sanjay, however, has denied the allegations surrounding the assault and has disputed the claim that he was responsible for her eye condition.

Speaking to Hrishikesh Kannan while discussing his autobiography, The Best Mistakes of My Life, Sanjay described the allegations as a one-sided account.

“I was so pained and horrified with the one-sidedness of the entire story because nobody even asked me what happened. This was a well planned PR attack against me which came like a blitzkrieg,” he said.

He also rejected the allegation that he had slapped Zeenat and attributed her eye condition to heredity.

“If you see ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, she has done several films. There is evidence to the fact that she has perfect eyes. Later on in life she became a little squint because her mother was squint a little bit. It was a hereditary thing that was labelled one me that I slapped her, I never slapped her, and this was blasphemy,” he said.

Raza Murad recalls Zeenat Aman’s marriage to Mazhar Khan

Raza also spoke about Zeenat’s marriage to actor Mazhar Khan, revealing that he had known Mazhar personally and considered him a close friend.

Recalling how he learnt about their relationship, Raza said he knew the two were close but was surprised when he heard that they had married.

“Mazhar was a very good friend of mine. One day, I learnt that she had married Mazhar. I knew they were close to each other, but I did not know they would get married,” he said.

Raza further noted that Mazhar had been married before his relationship with Zeenat.

Zeenat Aman with Simi Grewal. (Photo: Express Archive)

Raza recalled that Mazhar’s health began to deteriorate around a year and a half after the wedding, and that he never fully recovered.

“About a year and a half after the marriage, Mazhar’s health began to deteriorate, and he never recovered,” he said.

Zeenat married Mazhar in 1985, and the couple had two sons, Azaan and Zahaan. However, Zeenat later described the marriage as a difficult period in her life.

In an earlier interview with Simi Garewal, Zeenat spoke about how difficult it was to leave the relationship after spending years trying to support her husband and care for him.

“The first year after marriage, I realised I had made a mistake but since I had made the decision and done it against everybody’s will, I decided to live by it and make it work,” she said.

Zeenat later spoke about the years she spent caring for Mazhar, including taking him to hospitals across Mumbai and learning to manage aspects of his medical treatment herself.

“I tried everything under the sun. We were in and out of every hospital in Mumbai. I learned how to give injections, to do dressing, was living with a bag outside his body for 18 months, I learned how to change that bag. I did everything there was to do,” she recalled.

Mazhar died in Mumbai on September 16, 1998, at the age of 43, following kidney failure. Zeenat married never again.

DISCLAIMER: This article touches on personal relationship struggles, past domestic violence allegations, and long-term medical caregiving, and is provided for general informational and entertainment purposes. It does not constitute professional, legal, or medical advice, and readers experiencing personal distress or domestic issues are encouraged to seek support from appropriate professionals or helplines.