Gauahar Khan is charting her own alternate course

On the eve of the release of Begum Jaan, Gauahar Khan speaks about “going through a whole range of emotions” as Rubina, looks back at losing Slumdog Millionaire to Freida Pinto and elaborates on why she hates the word ‘item numbers’

April 12, 2017 12:16 am | Updated 07:13 am IST

Hungry for roles: Gauahar Khan’s struggle to be taken seriously as an actor is bearing fruit with Begum Jaan

Hungry for roles: Gauahar Khan’s struggle to be taken seriously as an actor is bearing fruit with Begum Jaan

Before her name was announced as the winner of Bigg Boss 7 , Gauahar Khan had almost resigned to the fact that Tannisha Mukherjee would take away the title. Fortunately for her, that didn’t happen. Following the reality show success, her life has taken a 360-degree turn. “I was getting offers prior to Bigg Boss too but the acknowledgement I got for the show is still paying off,” says the actress who will be seen next in Begum Jaan . The film’s lead, Vidya Balan who has been associated with the film since its inception, referred her to director Srijit Mukherji. “I always wanted to work with Vidya Balan and that is something she knew. Later, Srijit (Mukherji) told me that while conceptualising my character, he somehow had the girl from Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year in mind.”

With Begum Jaan , her years of struggle to being taken seriously as an actress and someone who is capable of more than just item numbers, is finally bearing fruit. In the film, Khan plays one of the sex workers in Begum Jaan’s brothel. While Khan is happy with the way her role has shaped up, she is not worried about her limited screen time in the multi-starrer. “I want the audience to remember my character,” she says. “People had dissuaded me from playing Koena’s role in Rocket Singh… as she wasn’t opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Such things have never bothered me and it’s finally working for me.”

Before the shoot commenced for Begum Jaan , the director conducted a workshop and tasked his largely female cast with penning their own journeys. “We had to come up with a story about how our characters landed up in the brothel in the first place,” says Khan who plays Rubina, a Begum Jaan loyalist. “The backstories helped us establish our character and also understand where we are coming from,” she says.

For Khan, playing Rubina has been a fulfilling experience as she “goes through a whole range of emotions”. “In the film, Rubina shares a different relationship with each character, but with Begum Jaan, it is of fierce loyalty, with Gulabo and the pimp (played by Pallavi Sharda and Pitobash respectively) there’s a different connection.”

Days of struggle

Despite coming from a film family (her father’s sister is married into the Nadiadwala family), Khan never had it easy finding her feet in Bollywood. “I have never asked for any help from them nor have I ever been offered anything,” she says. After coming fourth in Miss India 2002 competition, offers for walking the ramp poured in and Khan lapped it up. “It was a source of income and I loved doing it for a couple of years. But modelling has this monotony that I couldn’t handle. I wanted to be in front of the camera.”

After a few non-starters, she débuted as Koena Shaikh in Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year , a role that almost slipped out of her hands. Initially, Jaideep Sahni and Shimit Amin wanted a ‘Bengali-looking girl’ to play Koena Mukherjee. “I was on Jhalak Dikhla Jaa at the time and received a call from the casting director for a screen test. The only hindrance was not having big eyes,” she laughs. So, after three rounds of auditions with 200 aspirants, Khan finally bagged the role and Koena Mukherjee was turned into Koena Shaikh.

In 2012, Khan’s role as the rebellious and outspoken Chand Bibi in Ishaqzaade garnered critical reviews and she credits her “discipline and professionalism” for bagging the role of a prostitute with a heart of gold. Like in Rocket Singh , a lot of factors were stacked against Khan but it was Aditya Chopra who insisted on having her in the film. “The casting director Shanoo Sharma [said] that when they were casting for Chand Bibi, my name was recommended by Aditya Chopra,” says Khan. “He wasn’t there on the sets of Rocket Singh , but he was aware of my work ethic. I always believe that it’s fine if you don’t have guidance in the industry but good conduct goes a long way in your career.”

No song-n-dance about it

The actress has been associated with item numbers in the past, but strongly objects to the moniker since it’s derogatory towards women. “I call my songs dance numbers since I hate the term ‘item’. I decline numbers, which have objectionable lyrics because it is very important to be socially responsible. Also, I need to know how it will be shot before agreeing to it,” says the actress who lost out to Freida Pinto for the role in Slumdog Millionaire .

While Danny Boyle was happy with her screen test, he felt that casting her, as Latika, would mean scouting for a similar-looking child actor to play the character’s younger role. “When I missed out on that part, it was disheartening,” Khan recollects. “I would’ve been in Hollywood now. But there’s an Urdu saying: You never get anything before it’s time for it and more than what is in your fate. I am getting roles I hadn’t dreamt of either.”

While growing up, Khan always had a penchant for dancing and a chance meeting with superstar Govinda at her cousin’s wedding propelled her towards discovering her knack for imitating steps. “Govinda’s film Hatya had released which had a child actor. He was also quite popular with kids. I remember watching a video tape called Naach Govinda Naach which had all his hit numbers,” says the actress who was four years old at that time. “I discovered I was very filmy. In all the family pictures where my other siblings are standing straight, I am always striking a pose. I would even try to imitate various actors and fight with my sister about who will play Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi,” says Khan who has also starred in the reality show the Khan Sisters along with her sister Nigaar. “My sister came to the industry four years before me and she also had to struggle a lot. The conviction with which she had played the villainous roles in television shows was inspiring. People loved to hate her and still remember her for the roles she portrayed,” she says, signing off with: “I hope they remember me as well.”

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