Zeenat Aman: Fulfilling Relationships Don't Need Marriage Approval

In the video, she shared that she won't get married for the 2nd time, and that she has no problem staying single.

She said, "I don't think I will ever get married again, and I definitely won't have any more children. See, you have to qualify being single as opposed to being married. You can have a relationship without being married. I never want to get married again. There's nothing that's permanent. Why should we assume that any relationship is going to be permanent? Your children are not yours. They're going to grow up and go away and have their own lives".

She further mentioned, "I think that there is more respect in a relationship when it is not bound by, you know, signatures and tradition and laws and rules. You are with each other because you want to be and because you choose to be, not because you have to be. And there's no question of taking each other for granted. I think that's what happened to me in my marriage. I was completely taken for granted".

She also penned a long note in the caption, as she wrote, "Remember I posted my opinion on live-in relationships some months ago? It caused a bit of a kerfuffle amongst some of my contemporaries, and was accompanied by the usual accusations of insulting traditional values. Well, here's a blast from the past, with my younger self sharing the same view. I am honestly not courting controversy, but simply expounding the truth I have discerned from my own experiences. The core of my view is that it's more important that the relationship between two people be held sacred by THEM, than it is that it be "sanctified" for society through marriage".

She went on, "The idea that you cannot have a fulfilling relationship without state/religious approval is quite frankly as ridiculous as the idea that getting married will make an unhappy relationship suddenly happy. I understand societal pressures, and I also understand that more and more young people today are entering relationships as equals. Not to grow wealth, or build alliances, or seek protection, or please parents, or have children. but to experience the beauty of human connection. The bedrock of a healthy relationship isn't its governmental status, it's the respect and love two people share regardless of paperwork. Here is the truth, should either of my boys to choose to get married, I will be elated. But what's far more important to me is that they have meaningful and equal romantic partners in their lives. Whether they get married or not! This clip is from an overwhelming interview that I did in 1999".

"I was not at all expecting to be questioned about such personal matters but ended up going with the flow. To be frank it makes me uncomfortable to watch even now. Yet, time enough has passed for me to realise how important such conversations are. In inciting raw and unfiltered answers from me, Simi made such subjects less taboo for others to talk about. I'm sure many of you have thoughts on this, I'd love to read them in the comments but please be respectful. We are allowed to have differing opinions, without verbal violence", she added.

- IANS