Bollywood is known for its incredible rags-to-riches tales. Stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Jackie Shroff have opened up about their journeys from having nothing to enjoying lavish lifestyles. A standout story is that of Farah Khan, who faced tough times after her father's passing but has now become a leading figure in the industry as a filmmaker and choreographer.

Today, Farah Khan ranks among the highest-paid choreographers and filmmakers in Bollywood. But her path to success wasn’t easy. After her father, Kamran Khan, a stuntman turned filmmaker, experienced a significant financial crisis, the family found themselves in dire straits.

Farah Khan talks about her experiences with poverty

Farah Khan opened up to Pinkvilla about her dramatic shift from wealth to hardship, saying, "My dad was a producer, director, and actor, but he mainly worked on B-grade films. He never hit the A-list, even though he made some really entertaining movies. Then he decided to go all in on an A-grade film and put all his savings into it. The movie came out on a Friday, and by Sunday, we were broke. It was a sudden drop from riches to rags. The film flopped on its opening day, and we struggled for nearly 15 years."

She shared how her family had to start selling off their belongings—first her mom's jewelry, then their gramophone, and eventually their furniture to settle debts. They ended up living in just one room. Farah also talked about her father's death, saying, "When he passed away, he had only ₹30 to his name. We had to reach out to relatives to gather money for his funeral. He left us with nothing but debt, and for the next 7-8 years, I was focused on paying it off." She remembered that they even spent some years living in a storage room.

In an interview with Karan Thapar, she mentioned how her father's film failure pushed them into poverty.

Farah's big break as a choreographer came with the film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar after Saroj Khan stepped away from the project. She went on to create unforgettable dance sequences for movies like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Pehla Nasha, 1942: A Love Story, and many others.

In a chat with Radio Nasha, Farah shared a fun story about her time working with Shah Rukh Khan on Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. She mentioned that because the budget was super tight, Shah Rukh actually took on the role of her assistant. Farah also pointed out that she was the top earner in the crew for that film. She explained, “The budget was really low. Shah Rukh got ₹25,000 for his role. I was the highest-paid person on set, just so you know. I earned ₹5,000 for each of the six songs, which added up to ₹30,000. We couldn’t even afford to hire an assistant.”

Farah Khan really gave SRK the vibe of a spot boy

Farah and Shah Rukh became really good friends while working together on Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. Later on, SRK appeared in her first film as a director, Main Hoon Na. Looking back on their friendship, Farah once talked about what Shah Rukh thinks of her in an interview with T2 Online. She mentioned, “Shah Rukh always says, ‘The thing about Farah is she treats everyone the same. She treats me just like she treats a spot boy!’ I think that’s an awesome trait. Many people don’t treat the crew well. I make sure to treat everyone equally—badly! Since I started as a technician and then became a choreographer, it’s really important to me that the behind-the-scenes folks get recognized.”

Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan have teamed up for a bunch of successful films like Happy New Year, Main Hoon Naa, and Om Shanti Om. Nowadays, they’re both major stars in Bollywood, living the high life.

Farah Khan in the director's chair

Farah Khan has only directed four films throughout her career, and three of them turned out to be huge hits. She kicked things off with her first film, Main Hoon Na, which was a big commercial success. Then came Om Shanti Om, raking in ₹148 crore globally. Happy New Year took it up a notch, pulling in an impressive ₹397 crore worldwide. Tees Maar Khan also did well, but it didn’t really win her any praise from the critics.

Farah Khan in the role of a choreographer

Farah kicked off her career as a choreographer, crafting memorable dance sequences like Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se, Dhol Bajne Laga in Virasat, Ek Pal Ka Jeena in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan from Dil Chahta Hai, and Idhar Chala Main Udhar Chala in Koi... Mil Gaya. Her outstanding contributions led her to win the esteemed National Award for Best Choreography.

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