Saba Azad Responds to Being Labelled “Hrithik’s Girlfriend”

For the past few years, singer, voice artiste and actress Saba Azad has been in a relationship with Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. Her association with the superstar propelled her overnight into the media spotlight. Yet, despite being the niece of renowned theatre personality Safdar Hashmi and having acted on stage since childhood, Saba has had to pay a heavy price for her personal life.

Since her relationship with Hrithik became public, Saba has faced ridicule and professional setbacks.

• She revealed that she lost small but steady assignments.
• Many even questioned her right to work, asking: “Why does Hrithik’s girlfriend need to take up jobs?”

This dismissive attitude, she explained, has been deeply frustrating.

In a recent interview, Saba firmly addressed the criticism:

• “For the last decade, I have supported myself—paying rent, arranging my meals—through my work. Now, even securing projects has become difficult. At what point will we finally be free of this mentality that a woman in a relationship with a famous or successful man has no need to earn her own living?”

She stressed that her professional identity and financial independence have always been self-made, not reliant on her partner’s status.

Long before her relationship with Hrithik, Saba had built a solid career:

• She has worked for nearly a decade as a playback and commercial singer.
• She lent her voice to several popular advertisements.
• She also carved a reputation as a music artiste and appeared in a number of films.

However, the quantity of work offered to her has noticeably declined since her relationship came into the limelight.

Saba attributes this decline not to her talent but to deeply ingrained patriarchy within the industry and society.

• She revealed that one director directly told her: “Now that you’re the partner of a famous actor, you don’t need to work anymore.”
• This statement, Saba said, reflects the toxic mindset that continues to undervalue women’s independence.

 Saba Azad at a Glance

Through her candid remarks, Saba Azad has highlighted the struggles faced by women in the entertainment industry when their identities are overshadowed by their partner’s fame. Her response is not just personal—it is a call to challenge and dismantle the systemic biases that deny women their rightful professional space.