New Delhi:
Zarina Wahab has been married to actor Aditya Pancholi for the past thirty years. The couple fell in love while working together on the sets of Kalank Ka Tika, and got married in 1986. In 1993, Aditya had an extramarital affair with Kabir Bedi’s daughter, Pooja Bedi. The duo was open about their relationship but it all ended when Pooja’s maid filed a formal complaint against Aditya, accusing him of sexual abuse. Around 2004, Aditya Pancholi was rumoured to be dating actress Kangana Ranaut. Later, she accused him of physical abuse while they were also involved in a number of public arguments and controversies. Aditya claimed that he was financially mistreated by Kangana.
Amid all this, Zarina Wahab stood by Aditya Pancholi’s side and defended his actions. In a recent interview, the veteran actress confessed that she was always ready for such things to happen.
“I was always aware of Nirmal (Aditya’s real name)’s affairs, but I never questioned him. I only cared about how he treated me when he was home. I ignored asking him questions because it would have made him fearless. I was completely prepared for him to have affairs,” said Zarina in a chat with Lehran Retro.
When asked about abuse allegations against her husband by his (reported) girlfriends Pooja Bedi and Kangana Ranaut, Zarina Wahab said, “He has never been an abusive husband. He is such a sweetheart. Ulta mai maar du use (For once, I might beat him). But, he is very sweet. His girlfriends accused him of these things because they didn’t get what they wanted.”
Talking about Kangana Ranaut, the actress said, “I was always nice to Kangana. She often visited my home. He was very nice to her. I don’t know what went wrong. I just can tell that I saw what he couldn’t and eventually that happened.”
After several years of speaking publicly about her alleged abuse and assault by Aditya Pancholi, Kangana Ranaut filed a police complaint against the actor in 2019. Kangana accused him of “assaulting and exploiting” her 13 years ago. Mr Pancholi, in turn, filed a case of defamation against the Queen actress.
Despite all the controversies and affairs, Zarina Wahab praised Aditya Pancholi for being a “great husband and father”. She said, “He is a great father and a good husband. He has never stopped me from doing anything. Be it films, be it travelling, he would never stop.”
Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab share two kids, a daughter named Sana and a son named Sooraj.
