“My figure shows that I am a foodie but this size is not because of food.” Farah Khan is known to be straightforward and somebody who doesn’t mind laughing at herself. “It is puppy fat, you know,” she quips as she settles for a quick bite at The Claridges hotel in Delhi.
Well, for her it was quick but to us something that features mutton rogan josh and butter naan appears quite ample. “I have not been able to lose weight after pregnancy. I deserve some time. After all, I gave birth to triplets,” says Farah sipping sweet lime juice.
Of course she does, but somehow one sees a trend here. Most of our noted female choreographers have an abundant presence. “Yes, Saroj Khan has been fat since ages. I believe she was born fat! Of late Vaibhavi has also been gathering weight…and I am no different. In fact one of the apprehensions before going for the talk show was my size. I feared whether I will fit in the frame or not, but then I always believed in taking new challenges.”
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The latest being making Kylie Minogue dance to her steps in ‘Blue,’ releasing this Friday. “I am keeping away from choreography assignments because there are hardly any challenging offers but I could not say no for Kylie. Abbas Tyrewala has written some naughty lines in ‘Chiggy Wiggy’. Director Anthony D’Souza wanted to present Kylie as what she is — the international pop diva. So there was no point giving her Bollywood steps. I worked in sync with her style and she rehearsed for three days before the shoot.”
Lasting impression
Full of praise about her favourite butter chicken, Farah says she is a reluctant cook but when she is in form she is unbeatable. “My speciality is yakhini pulao, which I make in olive oil. However, once it got me into trouble. I was in Australia for a shoot and decided to cook pulao for the crew. Somehow I forgot and it got burnt. The sensitive fire alarm went off and everybody had to rush out. Thankfully, it was the last day of the shoot…what a lasting impression!”
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Digging into rogan josh, Farah points out her habit of straight talk no longer gives her the jitters. “Earlier I used to fear my tendency to call a spade a spade could get me out of work, but over a period of time I realised people around me appreciate the honesty.”
Perhaps that is the reason she got so many stars on her talk show, Tere Mere Beach Mein. “That’s true. Salman Khan’s mother had never appeared on a talk show. Then Vivek Oberoi admitted his mistake of calling a press conference against Salman Khan, and Hrithik Roshan talked about the stammering problem he had in childhood.” As for the food talk, she loved the episode with Karan and Sonam Kapoor, where the three discussed their fetish for junk food.
Few know that Farah didn’t want stars on her show. Trying an assortment of salad, Farah reveals, “I wanted to do it with common people who are special in their own way. But as you know nothing sells like Bollywood. The channel wanted me to bring on my friends. So I gave it a twist. I presented stars as common people and compared their lives with the man on the street. Instead of drama I concentrated on the human element of stars. The high point was when a teenager was able to find his family because of the show.”
That’s the real dessert? “Absolutely. If the channel invites me again, I would want to do it with people who are making a difference to the society without shouting from rooftops.”