I’ve had affairs, the world knows about them: Javed Sheikh criticised over resurfaced comments

Veteran actor Javed Sheikh has been receiving flak on social media after a clip from a 2021 interview with actor Naumaan Ijaz went viral. In the clip, Sheikh addressed his two marriages, both of which ended in divorce, as well as his “affairs”, which the actor claimed the “world knows about”.

With several netizens taking offence at his candid way of addressing his “affairs”, the actor’s response came after he was asked, “You have a colourful personality… You have also worked with top female actors. Has it ever been the case that any one of them ever won your heart?”

To this, Sheikh responded, “Of course, there are many. The thing is, everyone has instances such as this in their lives. I’ve been married twice. I have two kids from my first wife. Both of my marriages ended. I had affairs in the middle, but the world knows about them. I’m an open book.”

Sheikh was first married to Zinat Mangi and later Salma Agha. Speaking about his divorce from the latter and subsequent heartbreak, Sheikh shared, “Look, when I divorced Salma Agha, I was shattered. Really.” He explained how actor Neeli provided comfort and support to him at the time, saying, “That was the time I worked with the renowned Pakistani actor Neeli. When I did my first film with her, she provided me with support.”

He recounted, “When she saw that I would give a shot or two and then go sit in a corner, she asked what was going on. She asked a makeup artist, his name was Zahoor, she sent him to me to ask what I was doing to myself. She offered me to go sit with them and go out for chai or dinner. They didn’t like that I was moping in a corner. They started taking me out.”

However, the veteran actor clarified that he is not one to go out of his way to approach a woman. He shared, “But, secondly, I have never been the first one to approach any woman.

In a similar move, Ijaz himself landed in hot waters after confessing to infidelity. In September 2020, Ijaz's interview with Iffat Omar went viral. The actor, who is known to court controversy, could be seen talking to the host about ‘the secret of a successful marriage’, having been married for about 25 years now. Omar mentioned how artists are hopeless romantics to which he agreed, and when asked if he ever lost his heart elsewhere, he replied, “Beinteha (countless times).”

Talking about the same, Ijaz commented he is not answerable to anyone but his God and his wife. "They can think whatever they want, I do not care. I don't bother what people think," he said.