Shahid Kapoor’s mother, Neelima Azeem, opens up on separating from Pankaj Kapur: ‘Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be’

Not every love story gets an happily ever after. Sometimes, one needs to step away and introspect to realise that some things are just not meant to be. At least this is what Neelima Azeem, a renowned actress, beautiful classical dancer, and mother of Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor, believes in. Neelima fell in love at a very young age with Pankaj Kapur, who is among the most prolific artists of the industry. Once, she mentioned that she got married to a friend. However, that marriage didn’t last long, as the two got separated and moved on to different paths in their lives. Looking back at it, Neelima today doesn’t recall the pain or the hardship but a better understanding of why things took such a turn. Read on to know what Neelima Azeem has to say about her separation from Pankaj Kapur.

Neelima Azeem feels that she and Pankaj Kapur were very different people

“I just feel that, unfortunately, it was meant to be,” said Neelima as she candidly reflected on her separation from Pankaj Kapur, while speaking to Vickey Lalwani.




She further elaborated that she and Pankaj were very different people back then. Their mindsets and vibes didn’t sit well together, which perhaps was one of the reasons. “Nobody gets married to separate, right? They get married to stay together forever,” she said before adding, “But I think maybe we were very different people, and also, marriage is not about just what anybody did or what happened. I think it’s about where you are in your mind and where you are in your life, which phase you are in. And if those vibrations don’t have the same frequency, I just feel that it doesn’t sit well.”

Did Pankaj Kapur’s decision to move to Delhi put a strain on their relationship?

During the conversation, she also mentioned the physical distance between the former couple, as Pankaj moved to Mumbai and she was in Delhi with their child, Shahid, who was only around three years old back then. “I think there was a very massive distance, since he was in Mumbai and I was in Delhi. And I was still very much the girl who was in Delhi with my parents, because that’s how it was. And maybe it was not a good idea at that point in time for him to have taken off to Mumbai without me. And later, without Shahid.”

Having said that, she mentioned that it wasn’t Pankaj’s decision solely. He asked Neelima about his move to Mumbai, and she supported him. “I said, go ahead, you are extremely talented,” she mentioned, before adding that back then it wasn’t financially viable for the former couple, along with a young child, to settle in Mumbai.

“He was trying to make ground here, and I was in Delhi. So I think it was years of distancing that made us go our own ways,” he continued.

Neelima Azim has no regrets in life

When further asked how painful the separation was, Neelima said it was so long back that she couldn’t even recall. Also, she was a very different person back then. “I was just too young. So I think it was just too much for my very young shoulders to handle,” she shared.

Last but not least, she credits Shahid and Ishaan for her happiness and peace. She said, “If I look at it from every angle, I always say this, then I don’t know how many people understand it, but I have no regrets because I have Shahid. And the same goes for Ishaan. So I have no regrets.”