Zeenat Aman on live-in relationships: 'You choose to be, not because you have to'
Synopsis
Zeenat Aman didn't just express a personal preference on 'Rendezvous with Simi Garewal' — she made a philosophical argument. Relationships sustained by choice, she said, carry more dignity than those held together by law. Coming from someone who had lost a husband at 42, the words carried weight that went well beyond celebrity opinion.
Key Takeaways
Zeenat Aman stated on 'Rendezvous with Simi Garewal' that she would never remarry and voiced support for live-in relationships.
She argued that relationships built on choice — not legal obligation — carry greater respect and reduce the risk of being taken for granted.
Aman cited the deaths of her mother and former husband Mazhar Khan , who died at age 42 , as shaping her views on impermanence.
She described being 'completely taken for granted' in her own marriage as a key personal experience informing her position.
Her remarks were made on Simi Garewal's celebrated chat show, one of Indian television's most prominent celebrity interview platforms.
Veteran actress Zeenat Aman has long been one of Bollywood's most candid voices, and her appearance on the celebrated chat show 'Rendezvous with Simi Garewal' remains one of the more memorable examples of that frankness. Speaking openly with host Simi Garewal, Aman articulated a clear and considered case for live-in relationships — a position that was, and arguably still is, ahead of mainstream Indian social discourse.
What Zeenat Aman Said About Marriage
When the conversation turned to her personal life and future plans, Aman was unequivocal. 'I don't think I will ever get married again. And I definitely won't have any more children,' she told Garewal. Asked whether she was content living as a single woman, the Satyam Shivam Sundaram star pushed back on the framing itself — arguing that the binary between 'married' and 'single' was a false one.
'Am I happy being single. 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,' she explained. For Aman, the absence of a marriage certificate did not diminish the depth or legitimacy of a relationship.
On Impermanence and Self-Reliance
Aman grounded her views in personal loss, invoking the deaths of her mother and former husband Mazhar Khan, who passed away at just 42 years old. The experiences shaped a philosophy centred on impermanence. 'What is permanent in this life? 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 said.
Notably, she pointed to the relationship one has with oneself as the only truly dependable one — a perspective rooted not in cynicism, but in lived experience of grief and change.
Why She Believes Live-In Relationships Carry More Respect
The actress made a pointed distinction between relationships built on choice versus those sustained by obligation. '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,' she said.
Aman also offered a candid reflection on her own marriage, suggesting that being taken for granted was a defining feature of that experience. 'I think that's what happened to me in my marriage. I was completely taken for granted,' she concluded.
The Broader Context
Aman's remarks, made on one of Indian television's most-watched celebrity interview formats, carried particular weight given her stature in Hindi cinema. This comes amid a broader generational conversation in India around relationship norms, legal recognition of live-in partnerships, and personal autonomy — debates that have only intensified in the years since the interview aired. Her willingness to speak from personal experience, rather than abstraction, gave the argument a grounded authenticity that few public figures have matched on this subject.
Point of View
Not merely personal: she identified the coercive dynamic that legal marriage can create and named it plainly. In a media landscape that routinely flattens celebrity opinion into controversy, her interview stands out as one of the more substantive public conversations about relationship autonomy in Indian popular culture. The question of whether live-in partnerships deserve legal parity — still unresolved in Indian law — makes her words as relevant today as when she first spoke them.
NationPress
9 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Zeenat Aman say about live-in relationships on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal?
Zeenat Aman said she believed live-in relationships carry more respect than marriages because they are built on mutual choice rather than legal obligation. She argued that when two people stay together by choice, there is no question of taking each other for granted.
Why did Zeenat Aman say she would never remarry?
Aman said she had no desire to remarry, citing her belief that meaningful relationships do not require marriage certificates. She also reflected on her own experience of feeling taken for granted within marriage as a key reason for her position.
How did Mazhar Khan's death influence Zeenat Aman's views?
The death of her former husband Mazhar Khan, who passed away at age 42, deepened Aman's conviction that nothing in life is permanent. She used this as a basis for questioning why any relationship should be assumed to be lasting, whether or not it is formalised by marriage.
What is Rendezvous with Simi Garewal?
'Rendezvous with Simi Garewal' is a celebrated Indian television chat show hosted by actress and presenter Simi Garewal. It was known for its intimate interview format and featured some of Bollywood's biggest names speaking candidly about their personal lives.
