# Honey Irani (हनी इरानी)
**Honey Irani** (हनी इरानी; born 1955, Mumbai) is an Indian screenwriter, director, and former child actress who worked in [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema) as a leading child star in the 1950s and 1960s and reinvented herself after divorce as one of the industry's foremost screenwriters, winning three [Filmfare Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-awards) for *Lamhe*, *Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai*, and *Kya Kehna*.[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0409790/awards/) • [3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) |
| Child career | Began acting at about two and a half; played the boy Raju in *Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan* (1959), with credits announcing her as "wonder child Honey Irani"[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) |
| Writing debut | *Lamhe* (1991), Yash Chopra's film; Filmfare Award for Best Story, 1992[4](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/honey-irani) |
| Major screenplays | *Darr* (1993, story and screenplay); *Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai* (2000); *Kya Kehna* (2000); *Koi... Mil Gaya* (2003); *Krrish* (2006); *Krrish 3* (2013)[4](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/honey-irani) • [1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) |
| Filmfare Awards | Best Story for *Lamhe* (1992); Best Story for *Kya Kehna* and Best Screenplay for *Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai* (shared with Ravi Kapoor), both 2001[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0409790/awards/) |
| Marriage | Married screenwriter Javed Akhtar after meeting on the sets of *Seeta Aur Geeta*; with separation in 1978 and divorce in 1985[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) |
| Children | Farhan Akhtar, filmmaker, actor, and singer, and Zoya Akhtar, director[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) |
## Child stardom
Irani entered films by accident. The producer Dulal Guha came to her family's home in Bandra, Mumbai, to sign her older sister Daisy Irani for *Ek Gaon Ki Kahani* (1957), and left having signed the two-and-a-half-year-old Honey instead; she had called him "takla" (bald), and he was charmed.[5](https://www.mid-day.com/amp/sunday-mid-day/article/as-behind-the-big-screen-releases-honey-irani-being-a-child-actor-wasnt-something-i-chose-23614587) • [3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262)
**A marquee name.** Through the 1950s and 1960s Honey and Daisy Irani were household names, often cast as curly-haired boys; scripts were rewritten to accommodate one or both sisters, and their faces featured prominently on posters and promotions.[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) Her most remembered role was in Devendra Goel's *Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan* (1959), starring [Meena Kumari](https://www.edgepedia.org/meena-kumari) and [Rajendra Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajendra-kumar), in which she played a boy named Raju.[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) Her screen credits as a child include *Bombay Ka Chor*, *Soorat Aur Seerat*, and *Pyar Ki Pyas* (1961), among around 70 films by one publisher's count.[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/honey-irani/) • [7](https://www.ombooksinternational.com/authors/honey-irani/)
She has described the childhood behind the fame as hard: she never had the chance to go to school or play with other children, and worked until about age 10 or 11, with her last film as a child actor being *Purnima* with Meena Kumari.[5](https://www.mid-day.com/amp/sunday-mid-day/article/as-behind-the-big-screen-releases-honey-irani-being-a-child-actor-wasnt-something-i-chose-23614587) • [3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) She later trained in Kathak and toured with stage shows alongside performers including [Kishore Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kishore-kumar) and [Mohammed Rafi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohammed-rafi).[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262)
## Marriage and the move behind the camera
On the sets of [Ramesh Sippy](https://www.edgepedia.org/ramesh-sippy)'s *Seeta Aur Geeta* she met the writer [Javed Akhtar](https://www.edgepedia.org/javed-akhtar), who was working on the film with [Salim Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/salim-khan); she has recounted that he proposed during a card game, saying that if she drew him a good card he would marry her.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/javed-akhtar-changed-after-success-drinking-problem-honey-irani-second-marriage-shabana-azmi-10510359/) • [3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) She stopped acting after marrying him and worked for a few years as an assistant to Ramesh Talwar.[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262)
The marriage lasted 13 years. The couple separated in 1978 and divorced in 1985; Irani has attributed the breakdown in part to Akhtar's heavy drinking after his success, and has said there was no single reason.[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/javed-akhtar-changed-after-success-drinking-problem-honey-irani-second-marriage-shabana-azmi-10510359/) • [9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/honey-irani-on-maintaining-a-good-equation-with-javed-akhtar-and-shabana-azmi-after-separation-i-didnt-want-to-lose-them-as-friends/articleshow/127870770.cms) With no career and two children to support, she took odd jobs such as embroidery and turned to writing.[10](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/honey-irani?ctr=313&filterBy=h&people=&search=) She has maintained a warm relationship with Akhtar and his second wife, the actor [Shabana Azmi](https://www.edgepedia.org/shabana-azmi), saying she did not want to lose them as friends; Akhtar has said that after early tension the two are now best of friends.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/honey-irani-on-maintaining-a-good-equation-with-javed-akhtar-and-shabana-azmi-after-separation-i-didnt-want-to-lose-them-as-friends/articleshow/127870770.cms) • [6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/honey-irani/)
## Screenwriting career
Her writing debut came with [Yash Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/yash-chopra)'s *Lamhe* (1991), a film whose "bold" subject drew attention, and which won her the 1992 Filmfare Award for Best Story.[4](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/honey-irani) • [3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) She has said that people began taking her seriously only after *Lamhe*; before that, someone suggested she would merely ghost-write for the famous Salim-Javed partnership, of which her former husband was a part.[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/honey-irani-says-people-began-taking-her-seriously-after-she-wrote-lamhe-9983580/)
**A run of successes.** She wrote the story and screenplay of Yash Chopra's *Darr* (1993), and through the 1990s and 2000s penned a series of commercially successful films: *Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai* (2000), *Kya Kehna* (2000), *Koi... Mil Gaya* (2003), *Krrish* (2006), and *Krrish 3* (2013).[4](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/honey-irani) • [1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) In 2001 she won two further Filmfare Awards, Best Story for *Kya Kehna* and Best Screenplay for *Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai*, the latter shared with Ravi Kapoor; *Koi... Mil Gaya* brought nominations for Best Screenplay shared with [Rakesh Roshan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rakesh-roshan), Sachin Bhowmick, and [Robin Bhatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-bhatt) at the Zee Cine, Screen, and Apsara Film Producers Guild awards.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0409790/awards/) She has also written and directed the film *Armaan*.[7](https://www.ombooksinternational.com/authors/honey-irani/)
In a 2025 interview she said she had not written a screenplay in over a decade.[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/honey-irani-says-people-began-taking-her-seriously-after-she-wrote-lamhe-9983580/)
## Family in film
Her children with Javed Akhtar have become leading figures of the Hindi film industry in their own right: [Farhan Akhtar](https://www.edgepedia.org/farhan-akhtar) as filmmaker, actor, and singer, and [Zoya Akhtar](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoya-akhtar) as director.[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) • [10](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/honey-irani?ctr=313&filterBy=h&people=&search=) In early 2026 she spoke publicly about the box-office failure of Farhan's film *120 Bahadur*, saying that when a film does not work "it pains a lot", and about his divorce from Adhuna Bhabani after 16 years of marriage, which she called a shock.[12](https://daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1305516) • [13](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/honey-irani-on-farhan-akhtar-divorce-from-adhuna-it-was-a-shock-2862526-2026-02-03)
Her sister Daisy Irani was also a prominent child actor, and her sister Menaka (Maneka), married to filmmaker Kamran Khan, is the mother of filmmakers Farah and Sajid Khan.[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262) • [1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827)
## Note on dates
Published sources disagree on her birth date. BookMyShow and The Times of India give 25 August 1955 in Mumbai,[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) • [14](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Honey-Irani/awards) while Om Books International gives 25 August 1952 in Bombay[7](https://www.ombooksinternational.com/authors/honey-irani/) and BollywoodMDB gives 17 January 1950.[15](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/honey-irani-nm-6430/biography) Sources also differ on the year of *Seeta Aur Geeta*: The Indian Express calls it her last film as an actor and dates it 1975,[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/honey-irani-says-people-began-taking-her-seriously-after-she-wrote-lamhe-9983580/) while BookMyShow and Bollywood Hungama list it as a 1972 release.[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827) • [6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/honey-irani/)
## References
1. [Honey Irani – Movies, Biography, News, Age & Photos, BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/amp/person/honey-irani/827)
2. [Honey Irani – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0409790/awards/)
3. [Honey Irani on her journey from being a child star of the '60s to one of Bollywood's foremost screenwriters, The Telegraph (India), 26 January 2023](https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/honey-irani-on-her-journey-from-being-a-child-star-of-the-60s-to-one-of-bollywoods-foremost-screenwriters/cid/1912262)
4. [Honey Irani, Yash Raj Films Alumni](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/honey-irani)
5. [As 'Behind the Big Screen' releases, Honey Irani: 'Being a child actor wasn't something I chose', Mid-Day, 1 February 2026](https://www.mid-day.com/amp/sunday-mid-day/article/as-behind-the-big-screen-releases-honey-irani-being-a-child-actor-wasnt-something-i-chose-23614587)
6. [Honey Irani – Filmography, Movies, News, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/honey-irani/)
7. [Honey Irani, Om Books International](https://www.ombooksinternational.com/authors/honey-irani/)
8. [Javed Akhtar changed after success, drinking became a problem, says first wife Honey Irani, The Indian Express, 3 February 2026](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/javed-akhtar-changed-after-success-drinking-problem-honey-irani-second-marriage-shabana-azmi-10510359/)
9. [Honey Irani on maintaining a good equation with Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi after separation, The Times of India, 3 February 2026](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/honey-irani-on-maintaining-a-good-equation-with-javed-akhtar-and-shabana-azmi-after-separation-i-didnt-want-to-lose-them-as-friends/articleshow/127870770.cms)
10. [Honey Irani – Biography, Films, Legacy, Cinemaazi](https://www.cinemaazi.com/public/people/honey-irani?ctr=313&filterBy=h&people=&search=)
11. [Honey Irani says people began taking her seriously after she wrote Lamhe, The Indian Express, 6 May 2025](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/honey-irani-says-people-began-taking-her-seriously-after-she-wrote-lamhe-9983580/)
12. [Honey Irani on Farhan Akhtar after 120 Bahadur underperforms, Daijiworld, 4 February 2026](https://daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1305516)
13. [Honey Irani on Farhan Akhtar's divorce from Adhuna: It was a shock, India Today, 3 February 2026](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/honey-irani-on-farhan-akhtar-divorce-from-adhuna-it-was-a-shock-2862526-2026-02-03)
14. [Honey Irani Awards, The Times of India Entertainment](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Honey-Irani/awards)
15. [Honey Irani – Full Biography & Life Story, BollywoodMDB](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/honey-irani-nm-6430/biography)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Hindi film actors, 1930s–1960s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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