Zeba Bakhtiar says she ‘lost my mind’ during custody battle with Adnan Sami post their messy divorce

Singer Adnan Sami got married to actress Zeba Bakhtiar in 1993 but four years later, the duo filed for a divorce. They had a son named Azaan Sami during their marriage. The ex-couple had a messy divorce and a long drawn custody battle for son. Recently, Zeba opened up on her turmoil during that phase.

Zeba on quitting acting

In an interview with Aamna Haider Isani, Zeba insisted that she quit acting post marriage to focus on the family. She said, “When I got married to Adnan, I was wrapping up a few films. At that time, I wasn’t interested in continuing to act. I wanted to write, maybe produce. I wasn’t that involved in acting. 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.”

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A post shared by Zeba Bakhtiar (@zeba_bakhtiarofficial)

On custody battle for son Azaan Sami

Zeba and Adnaan fought an 18 month long custody battle for son Azaan. That whole time was quite tough for both of them and Zeba says she lost her mind during that while. She shared, “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. But I am thankful I got back with Azaan. It was 18 months of this custody battle. I wasn’t working during that time, but a few friends of mine told me to work for my own sanity. There was a friend who was doing a serial in England and I joined the same show. I went to London for a few months to shoot that.”

During the custody battle. Zeba had alleged lack of cooperation from Pakistan and UAE officials, and even reached the Canadian courts to appeal. Immigration officials had stormed Adnan’s house to take his son and hand it over to Zeba, post which he filed a defamation suit on her.

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A post shared by ADNAN SAMI (@adnansamiworld)

Zeba Bakhtiar on divorce with Adnan Sami

Talking about their messy divorce, Zeba insisted, “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 predominantly works in the Pakistani film and TV industry. Her notable works include the TV show Anarkali and the movie Sargam. She also did one Bollywood film, Henna, opposite Rishi Kapoor in 1991. As for Adnan, the singer gave up his Pakistan citizenship to become an Indian citizen in 2016.

Also Read: Adnan Sami: Top 5 songs of the supremely talented singer that transcends all generations