Lost a career because of an archaic assumption: Saba Azad

Artist shared how dating Hrithik Roshan impacted her

Saba Azad, who is in a relationship with Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, has taken to her social media to voice some concerns. The actor and voiceover artist who has lent her voice to several advertisements, in a series of Instagram Stories, shared that it has been years since she got an opportunity to do voiceovers. The shocking reason: her relationship with Hrithik.

In her Instagram Stories, Saba posted a picture of herself in a recording studio and revealed that she was finally back to doing voice-overs after almost two and a half years. She recalled how, at one point in time, she would do six to seven voice-overs in a month. “So, imagine my confusion when two and a half years ago out of the blue, I went from doing six to eight voiceovers a month to none,” she wrote. Saba continued to recount how she never gave anyone the impression she was leaving the profession, as she penned, “I never told anyone I’m quitting. Never said I’m disinterested. I never altered by session fee. Nothing was different from my end, so what changed? I was entirely clueless.”

Saba revealed that she only found out the reason she wasn’t getting any work a month ago when she met with a director she used to work with regularly and asked him why she wasn’t being called in for voiceovers anymore. The director, who she described as “super progressive and chill”, told her that he thought she wouldn’t be interested in something like a voiceover, given that she is in a relationship with Hrithik. She doesn’t explicitly name the actor or mention their relationship in clear terms, but she wrote, “Well, you can imagine what was implied. He didn’t think I would do a job like a voiceover given where I am in life, i.e., who I am dating.” She was shocked and stated in her Story that it was the “last thing” she expected him to say.

Saba didn’t mince her words as she continued, “Are we really still living in the dark ages where we assume a woman in a relationship with a successful partner no longer has to put food on her own table? Or pay her rent and bills? Or take pride in her work and take care of herself and her family? What kind of an archaic assumption to make! So, I basically lost a whole career that I absolutely loved and appreciated because people thought I didn’t need to work anymore? This is sadly a one-dimensional, patriarchal, and regressive mindset.”

She concluded with a strong message for all those with the same troubling mindset as the aforementioned director, “For the uninitiated, when two strong independent individuals come together, they don’t give up their identities or their lives and careers to do so. They hold on to their individuality and share from a place of freedom and strength. Losing a whole career because of someone else’s presumptuous ignorance really hurts. So again, no I haven’t quit, all ye makers of ads — I still do voiceovers. So please for the love of God undo your assumptions and let’s get recording already!”

Hrithik and Saba first sparked relationship rumours in January 2022 when the two were papped stepping out of a café, holding hands. The two then made their first public red carpet appearance at Karan Johar’s 50^th birthday in May earlier this year.