TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to alcohol addictionFarah Khan may be one of Bollywood’s most fun and fearless stars today, a hit filmmaker, top choreographer and a YouTube favourite, but her life was not always this bright. Long before she directed big films like ‘Main Hoon Na’ and ‘Om Shanti Om’, she also faced some very dark days. She grew up in a broken home, watched her family lose everything, and learned to survive with very little.
Farah Khan recalls her family’s downfall
Farah’s childhood was far from easy. Her father, Kamran Khan, was once a successful film producer. But when his films stopped doing well, everything began to fall apart. During a chat with her best friend, Sania Mirza on her podcast ‘Serving It Up With Sania’, Farah spoke about the harsh reality of her family’s life during those years.“It was uncertain. We had a whole floor and then we started selling flats. Finally, we came to a one hall and one bedroom, after coming from five bedrooms and a huge hall, which he couldn’t sell because they were under my mom’s name. So that hall, in the afternoon, that was given to the people to come and play cards,” she said.That small source of income became their only hope. “Those Rs 30-35 were used to buy milk for the next day, little bhaaji and my dad’s quarter or half bottle. If they didn’t come to play for whatever reason, there was no milk for the next day. If two extra people came, we used to get excited that now we will get mutton today.”
Farah Khan opens up about living hand to mouth
The ‘Tees Maar Khan’ director described how her family lived from one day to the next, never knowing what tomorrow would bring. “It was literally that hand to mouth. It’s a very depressive place to come back from. To see my dad like that, I can smell alcohol so well whenever I travel, it triggers a childhood memory for me. I used to stay in the college till 6:30-7 so that I didn’t have to go home. Till now, I am insecure about money. I understood why my dad took to alcohol.
Farah Khan talks about finding strength through work
Even as a teenager, Farah did not have the luxury of taking life easy. She also spoke about how she decided to try something new when she started her YouTube channel. It began as a fun idea that quickly became a hit.“As you grow older, you care less about things. At that time, I had just finished a new script of a film that I want to make, and I knew I had to wait for two more years. I didn’t want to be angsty and wake up with uncertainty everyday, have done that in my young days. I thought I’ll just try doing YouTube, I didn’t plan it and something about it hit the bullseye,” she said.DISCLAIMER: If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol abuse, please seek help from available helplines or support organizations.
