Farah Khan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Farah Khan

• At the time of her birth, she was named Farahdeeba. However, after her classmates in school started teasing her by calling dibba (a box), she kept her name, Farah.

  

• In 1970, she was offered the role of a child actor in the Hindi film ‘Andaz,’ but her father rejected the offer. Her father even stopped her from performing as a dancer at events and competitions.

• Farah Khan’s parents got separated when she was around 12 years old. She used to live in a slum area with his mother and brother.

• She once shared that for around 5 years, Farah along with her mother and brother, lived in her aunt Dasiy Irani’s home.

• Later, they moved back to her father’s house after her mother started working as a housekeeper in a hotel. Her mother used to earn Rs 300 per month by working in a hotel.

• Her father was a renowned filmmaker until he spent all his savings on making the film “Aisa Bhi Hota Hai” (1971), which was a big flop. Her father lost all his finances, and even her mother had to sell her jewellery to make a living.

• Her father became an alcoholic after his failure in films and later, he died due to liver damage when Farah was 19 years old.

• Her father had died with only Rs 30 in his pocket. Farah and her family did not even have money for her father’s funeral. They collected the money from their neighbours.

• She didn’t have any formal training in dancing in her early career days as she couldn’t afford it. She learnt dancing by just watching dance videos of Michael Jackson. She considers him her biggest inspiration for dance.

• While growing up, Farah, along with her brother, used to perform in various local dance competitions to earn money.

  

• She did not have enough money to join a dance school. She self-trained herself in various dance forms. She then formed her dance group.

• Farah and Sajid performed as a backup dancer in the song “Bacha Le Sambha Le Koi To Yahan Se Nikale” in the film “3D Saamri” in 1985. They had mud on their face in the song, that is why their face is not recognizable in the song.

• She won the competition for Indian entry to the “World Dance Championship” in 1986. Farah & her partner Hemu Sinha went to the UK for the competition where they won the “Friendship Duo” award for being friendly to their fellow participants. Later, she made the film Happy New Year based on this event.

• She performed as a background dancer in the song “Feeling Hot Hot Hot” in the film “Jalwa” in 1987. She received Rs. 300 per day for working as a background dancer in the Hindi film Jalwa.

• Later, she requested the Indian film director Mansoor Ali Khan to hire her as his assistant.

• In 1992, while Mansoor was directing the film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, the Indian choreographer Saroj Khan left the film midway and Masoor asked Farah to choreograph the song ‘Pehla Nasha’ for the film. She agreed to it and the song became very popular.

• Farah has played small roles in various Hindi films like ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998), ‘Main Hoon Na’ (2004), ‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007), and ‘Khichdi: The Movie’ (2010). She once said that the characters in the film ‘Main Hoon Na’ was inspired by the people of Nehru Nagar Housing Society in Mumbai, where Farah grew up.

  

• She then choreographed many popular Bollywood songs including “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from Dil Se… (1998), “Ek Pal Ka Jeena” from Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000), “Idhar Chala” from Koi… Mil Gaya (2003), “Munni Badnam Hui” from Dabangg (2010), and “Sheila Ki Jawani” from Tees Maar Khan (2010).

• She has also choreographed songs for a few Tamil films like ‘Alaipayuthey’ (2000) and ‘Nanban’ (2012).

• She has also choreographed for English films like ‘Monsoon Wedding’ (2001), ‘Bombay Dreams’ (2002), and ‘Vanity Fair’ (2004).

• For the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, she choreographed the Colombian pop star Shakira for a Bollywood version of her song “Hips Don’t Lie.”

  

• As a director-scriptwriter, she has worked in various Hindi films such as ‘Om Shanti Om’ (2007), ‘Tees Maar Khan’ (2010), and ‘Happy New Year’ (2014).

• In 2007, Farah, along with her husband Shirish Kunder, started a film production company named Three’s Company Productions Private Limited in which three represent their triplets.

• In 2012, after a slap controversy between Shah Rukh Khan and her husband, she stopped talking to Shah Rukh. Later, they resolved their issues.

  

• She worked as a choreographer for the song “Jumping Jhapak” from the official anthem for the 2013 Indian Premier League.

  

• In 2015, she was featured on the cover of Child magazine.

  

• She has hosted a few Hindi TV shows such as ‘Bigg Boss Halla Bol’ (2015; co-host), ‘Farah Ki Daawat’ (2015), and ‘The Khatra Show’ (2022).

  

• In 2017, she choreographed Jackie Chan in a song from the Chinese film ‘Kung Fu Yoga.’
• She hosted a party at her residence for the English singer Ed Sheeran in 2017. The party was attended by many Indian celebrities.
• Farah has judged many Hindi TV shows including ‘Indian Idol’ (Seasons 1, 2 and 7), ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’ (Seasons 1, 9, 11), ‘Nach Baliye’ (Seasons 4 and 7), ‘India’s Got Talent’ (Season 4), and ‘Zee Comedy Show’ (Season 1).

  

• She once shared that she wanted to join the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune in her teens. However, due to her poor financial condition, she could not afford it.

• She once shared that the Hindi film Sholay was one of her biggest inspirations to make her career as a film director.

• She is the second Indian female choreographer to receive 7 Filmfare Awards for best choreography after Saroj Khan.

• Her husband is eight years younger than her. She started dating him while they were working in the Hindi film ‘Main Hoon Na.’ She first had a court marriage with him, followed by South Indian wedding rituals in which the Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan did Farah’s Kanyadaan. They also had a Muslim wedding ceremony.

• She is often spotted consuming alcohol at various parties and events.

  

• Various Indian actors have shared that while working with her they have faced her anger issues on the sets of the films. She is considered very abusive off-camera. In a leaked video on the internet, she was seen abusing during the shoot.

• Reportedly, she had a cold war with choreographer, Saroj Khan for around 20 years.

• In 2019, she hosted a lunch for her Bollywood friends including the Indian filmmaker Vikas Bahl. However, she received criticism from the netizens for sharing pictures with Vikas at the time he was accused of sexual assault during the #MeToo movement.

• In 2020, she produced the Hindi film ‘Mrs. Serial Killer.’

  

• In 2021, Farah received the UAE Golden Visa for her contribution to Indian cinema.

  

• In the same year, she collected Rs 16 crores as a donation for a fundraising campaign for a child suffering from a rare genetic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

• She once shared that she had dreamt of becoming an architect.

• She is an avid animal lover and owns a pet dog named Smoochy.

  

• In 2024, she started her cooking YouTube vlog channel Food With Farah.

• She once shared a photo on Instagram where she was seen at the Lal Bagh Raja Temple. She got very upset when people started commenting on her religion in the post’s comments section.

• The Indian choreographer Geeta Kapur is trained under her.

  

Pehla Nasha

Sheila Ki Jawani