Farah Khan chanced upon a choreography career when Saroj Khan didn’t turn up to shoot Pehla Nasha on the sets of Mansoor Khan’s 1992 blockbuster Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. In an interview with Radio Nasha, Farah has now revealed a similar story for Aditya Chopra’s 1995 cult romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and explained why she didn’t choreograph all the songs of the Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol-starrer. (Also Read – Farah Khan calls entourage costs of stars ‘waste of resources’: ‘Ek actress 9 jan saath mein leke aate hain’)
Farah on rejecting DDLJ initially
Farah recalled that she’d already built a rapport with Shah Rukh by then, after hitting it off on the sets of Kundan Shah’s 1994 romantic film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. When veteran choreographer Saroj Khan got late in reaching the sets of DDLJ in Switzerland, Farah was summoned. “I didn’t have a phone at my home then. My neighbour got a call. There was Shah Rukh and Adi (Aditya Chopra) on the phone. Shah Rukh asked me, ‘Farah, can you come to Switzerland tomorrow? Yash Raj Films will organise. There are 2-3 songs we need you to do.’ And I swear I told them, ‘Sorry, my dates are with Nana Patekar (for Yeshwant, 1997). Day after, I’m shooting with Nana Patekar and I can’t ditch that shooting because I’ve got a bigger film.”
Farah on how she did one DDLJ song
Farah said the song of Yeshwant wasn’t a great set, but Nana had requested her to do the choreography. “Then I didn’t do the other songs (of DDLJ). Then when they came back, Adi called me to meet him. He said, ‘I really admire that you stuck to (your commitment). Not everyone does that. The minute you get a bigger film, you dump (the smaller one).’ He had just one song left and asked me to do it. It was Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane. So I believe if you’ve given your word and if you don’t stay true to it, no one can trust you,” she added.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all time.
