Farah Khan

Name: Farah Khan

Birthday: 9^th January, 1965

Zodiac: Capricorn

Marital Status: Farah Khan is married to Shirish Kunder who was the editor of ‘Main Hoon Na’. Their marriage ceremony took place on the 9^th of December, 2004. On the 11^th of February, 2008, she gave birth to triplets: one son named Czar and two daughters named Anya and Diva.

Awards:

Filmfare Awards:

1) Farah Khan received the Filmfare Best Choreography Award six times (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2011).

2) After Saroj Khan, Farah Khan holds the position for the most number of awards won in the ‘Best Choreography’ Category.

International Indian Film Academy:

1) She won the award for Technical Excellence in the years 2001 and 2002.

2) In 2005, she received awards for both Technical Excellence as well as for the category of the Best Debut Director.

3) In 2009 and 2011, yet again, she bagged the awards for the Best Choreography category for the songs, Desi Girl (Dostana) and Munni Badnam (Dabangg) respectively.

Star Screen Awards:

1) Farah Khan was awarded with the prestigious Star Screen Award for her choreographing skills in the years 2001, 2002 and 2004.

2) In 2005 she received the Star Screen Award in the ‘Best Debut Director’ category.

Zee Cine Awards:

1) In the year 2005, Farah Khan was awarded the ‘Best Debut Director’ Zee Cine Award.

2) In 2011, she received the award for ‘Best Choreography’ for Sheila Ki Jawaani, the famous song from the film Tees Maar Khan.

Apart from the above mentioned awards, Farah Khan received several other awards for her exceptional choreographing and directing skills.

Biography: Farah Khan’s father Kamran Khan was a famous actor who, besides acting, also used to make stunt films. Menaka, her mother as well as the sister of Honey Irani, the screenwriter, is of Zoroastrian origin. Farah Khan’s brother Sajid Khan is an actor, comedian and film director. Famous film personalities like Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar are the cousins of Farah Khan.

Farah’s childhood was austere as her family was under a huge debt. To add to her misery, most of her father’s films did not do well in the industry. Farah completed her education in sociology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Farah had a talent in dancing from her childhood days and she would entertain her family and her friends by dancing to several old numbers. She gained inspiration from Michael Jackson after seeing his world famous music video, ‘Thriller’ and this ultimately led her to take dancing as her prime profession. Farah did not learn dancing from anywhere or anyone. She taught herself the art of dancing and she even went on to establish a dance school during her college life. Soon after, dancing became her vocation.

Farah started off with her journey in the B-town as a choreographer, by choreographing in the film ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’, by Mansoor Khan. The grand success of this movie brought Farah Khan into the limelight. Following this movie, she choreographed numerous songs in several movies, some of which went on to become national hits. In her second film, ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’, she met Shah Rukh Khan on the sets and since then they became good friends and have worked together in several projects. Farah made her next major breakthrough in the movie ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ when the project came into her hands after Saroj Khan walked out of this film.

Farah Khan, as a choreographer has achieved numerous successes in several big projects, some of which are ‘Krrish’, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’.

Apart from being a choreographer, Farah Khan always had a dream to direct movies and she was given a lot of inspiration regarding the same by her good friend, Shah Rukh Khan. She pursued her dream together with Shah Rukh Khan and she directed Om Shanti Om and Main Hoon Naa, both of which became box office hits. Her excellent direction skills and techniques earned her lots of appreciation. ‘Tees Maar Khan’ was her next directed film which did not do well in the box office and was considered to be a semi-hit. She will be making her debut in acting with the Bela Bhansali Sehgal film ‘Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Pari’, which is set to release in 2012. Farah Khan’s next project as a director is titled ‘Happy New Year’ which will be released in 2013.

She received international recognition and critical acclaim for her outstanding work in ‘Bombay Dreams’, ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘Monsoon Wedding’. Along with ‘Anthony Lan Vaast’, her collaborator, Farah was nominated for the ‘Best Choreographer Award’ in Broadway’s 2004 Tony Awards, for her movie ‘Monsoon Wedding’. She had also made her contribution outside the domestic network, in the international domain in the project titled ‘Marigold: An Adventure in India’. On the 31^st of August, 2006, Shakira, the word renowned Colombian pop star was also trained by Farah Khan for a Bollywood adaptation of ‘Hips Don’t Lie’, for the ‘MTV Video Music Awards’. It was in the Radio City Music hall where this entire award ceremony show was hosted.

Apart from choreographing and directing, Farah Khan has also made his appearance as a host and as a judge in several TV shows. ‘Tere Mere Beech Mein’ was a celebrity chat show on Star Plus, where Farah Khan was the host. She was also the judge on several television reality shows:‘Dance India Lil Masters’, ‘Indian Idol Season 1 and 2’, ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’ and ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar’.

This director turned actor, has been a source of inspiration for many. Farah Khan has become a role model for numerous aspiring directors and choreographers for her determination, grit, hard work and attitude.