Zayed Khan reacts to criticism over Zarine Khan’s Hindu funeral: ‘Her last wish mattered most’
Actor Zayed Khan has finally addressed the backlash surrounding the last rites of his mother, Zarine Khan, who passed away in Mumbai in November last year at the age of 81 due to age-related ailments. The visuals of Zayed performing her funeral rituals as per Hindu traditions had sparked debate online, given Zarine’s Parsi roots and her marriage into a Muslim family. Now, speaking about the criticism, Zayed has made it clear that the decision was guided solely by his mother’s final wish. In a recent interview, Zayed spoke emotionally about his family’s belief system, emphasizing that religion is deeply personal and not something to be judged externally. “We as a family find religion to be something very personal to you, and how you want to approach it, and not something which is better and which is worse. These are not things that are good to say. We define ourselves by being a very secular family, and we don’t need to say why,” he said. Highlighting the values he grew up with, Zay...