She believes in swimming against the tide. Hailing from an illustrious film family, Farah Khan Ali ventured into the uncharted territory of jewellery designing to carve out her own niche. The reason, she says, was to avoid the familiar feeling of “ Ghar ki murgi dal barabar ”. Her father, filmmaker Sanjay Khan, allowed her to pursue a course in gemmology in the U.S., provided she stood first in her class. The desire to fulfil her father’s instructions to excel was her driving force, says Farah, who claims as a child she couldn’t distinguish between an emerald and a ruby.
Her hard work at the institute paid off. “Thankfully I lived up to my promise of topping the class at the Gemmological Institute of America in Santa Monica. Right from childhood, my father instilled in me good values. He would also lay stress on education and emphasised its significance in making us good productive citizens. He told me that I could conquer the world only if I was properly educated.”
He had also, apparently, trained her for hard work with interventions like making her use the public transport system.
“For four years, I used public transport to travel to a university in Bombay, which made me feel the pain and frustration of the aam aadmi .”
Ghar ki murgi dal barabar
She maintains her lineage has not helped boost her brand, Farah Khan. “Hailing from a film family has nothing to do with my career. I had to slog for years before my first shop opened. People might come to me because I am from a film family but they would buy my jewellery only if they feel I have lived up to their desired level of craftsmanship. Today my clientele includes not only Serena Williams, Beyonce and Bollywood stars but also people from different walks of life.”
Recently Farah tied up with jewellery brand Tanishq to design an assortment of earrings, rings and pendant sets, studded with stones like rubies, emeralds and topaz, which are available at select showrooms.
“Through Tanishq, I am reaching out to trendy traditional women. Eventually, this alliance would help me to connect with the masses. The idea behind this collaboration is to ensure that the middle class succeeds in getting a Farah Khan piece within their stipulated budget. The pieces I have designed are intended for the multi-tasking, multi-faceted Indian woman who has to strike a balance between her office and home.”
