Since time immemorial, Indian women have been sacrificing for their husbands’ or kids’ success. Rather than celebrating these selfless souls, we either tend to ignore them or tend to shame them for not living life on their own terms.
At IFORHER, we celebrate those forgotten heroes who chose to strive hard to see their husbands or kids succeed but never got an applaud for their selfless acts.
One such hero is Boman Irani’s wife Zenobia Irani.
From being a waiter to a successful movie star at the age of 55, Boman Irani’s life struggle has inspired many to pursue their dreams. But, many are not aware of the fact that it was his wife Zenobia who pushed him to follow his dream of becoming an actor.
While sharing his unheard love story with HoB, Boman Irani mentioned how Zenobia is not only the love of his life, but also his biggest supporter and a moral guide. Sharing how he first met Zenoiba and fell in love, Boman mentioned:
“It was love at first sight when Zenobia walked into my Wafer Shop. She made my day with just minutes of conversation. Soon, she started visiting everyday, and I realized she liked me too — I mean come on, who really needs to buy so many wafers?
Across-the-counter chats turned into phone calls where we’d talk about everything in the world. But, the phone calls stopped during her final BSC exams. Her father picked up and said, ‘If you don’t mind, please don’t call for the next month, she’s getting distracted!’ Being away from her was tough but it cemented my feelings.”
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Then on his first date, Boman couldn’t stop himself from proposing to Zenobia:
“Finally, after her exams got over, we went on our first date. But even before we got the menus, I blurted, ‘I think we should get married!’ Kids these days will think I was bonkers but I didn’t need to ‘figure things out’ or ‘see how it goes’. I just knew in my heart that she was the one.
And you know what she said next? ‘Ya, of course Boman..Oh no, wait! I’ve forgotten my umbrella.’ I’d just proposed to her and that’s the first thing she said– can you believe it? She thought it was raining when it was just the sound of a Sizzler plate passing!
That night, I knew 2 things: I was going to marry her and that I wouldn’t ever need a TV – we had all the entertainment we needed. Turns out I was right..we still joke about that night!”
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He shared how, from fueling his passion for acting to supporting the family in handling his shop, Zenobia made it all happen for him.
“On our 1st anniversary, she ‘surprised’ me with a camera — except she broke into MY piggy bank of tips I had earned at the Taj to buy it! Before we knew it, we had 2 kids — I’d say we were eager beavers! But the best part about getting married was that I didn’t have to deal with her 9 PM curfew or her father waiting like a tiger on the porch when I dropped her home.
But jokes apart, for every laugh I get out of her, she’s been my anchor through the good times and bad. She took over the Wafer Shop, was a superstar at taking care of the family and pushed me to follow my dream of becoming an actor.”
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“Though I’m in the spotlight now, she keeps me grounded. She’s my moral compass and guides me when I’m stuck. Once, when I’d quoted a fee to host a show, my manager realized that the budget they had was much larger. So when I asked Zenobia about charging a higher fee, she said, ‘No–You were happy with the first price so don’t get greedy!’ So I say, she may be bad for business but she’s good for the soul.”
But this isn’t the first time, Boman has come forward to applaud his wife’s efforts. A few months back while celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary, he took to Instagram to share a heartwarming message for his wife. He shared how marriage is a two-way street and how his wife is a superstar.
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It is heartwarming to see how Boman has come forward to recognize his wife’s unheard selfless acts of supporting him during the worst time of his life. We hope many husbands and families would seek inspiration from Boman’s heartwarming gesture to recognize the selfless and courageous acts of their wives and mothers.