Hit and Ms

How much of that story is true,and how much marketing hyperbole,we will never know. What we do know is that it cemented the carefully cultivated aura around Farah. This was the woman who got Shah Rukh to drop his shirt. Hell,this was the woman who got Shah Rukh to the table with her very first film,and what’s more,even got him to produce it. She had the power.

Some of the conversations I’ve had with a senior executive of a big production house touch upon this irrevocable but unwritten rule: the presence of a big star is the one ring that rules them all. In the past few years,he has heard terrific scripts,but he’s been unable to take them past the story stage. His hands are tied. The only way a brand new director can get the finance is if he or she comes attached with a star. In fact,that seems to be the only requirement. Now that you have him — always a him,and preferably a Khan — in the bag,how many crores of rupees do you want? Goody,here’s the money,let’s start shooting,we’ll think of the story later.

A young filmmaker tells the story of a friend who sent her script to one of the biggest Bollywood producers who’s gone on record several times about always being in search of good scripts. He refused to even look at it despite the fact that it had gone through the friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend route. Why should I,he’s meant to have said dismissively,I don’t even know the sender.

In the notoriously clannish industry where you only get films on the strength of who you know,Farah checks all the boxes. Her father was a well-known stunt filmmaker,her mother is related to Honey and Daisy Irani. Farhan and Zoya Akhtar are first cousins. Her brother Sajid was numero uno funnyman on TV for years before he branched out into Bollywood,and found instant success with his inimitable brand of frat-boy comedy.

Farah started off as a choreographer,having famously stepped in for Saroj Khan in Aamir Khan’s Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. Pehla nasha was a beauty: it captured a youthful Aamir celebrating being alive to the sound of music. There was no stopping Farah after that. Stars danced to her every move. Shah Rukh became a friend,and produced her debut feature.

Main Hoon Na was an unabashed ode to the masala movies that Farah,now in her mid-40s,loved while growing up. Long-lost brothers,a loving mother,a handsome hero,a heroine to flash bosom and sing songs,and a climax where the bad guy is roundly beaten. You could literally smell the gajar ka halwa wafting off the screen. The audience loved it.

Om Shanti Om paid campy,self-aware tribute to another tried-and-tested trope: punarjanam (rebirth),with doppelgangers and sweet revenge. And,of course,Shah Rukh. By now,Farah was the only woman that mattered in a man’s industry,and had perfected the art of creating The Item Number Film.

Her films are big,showy vanity vehicles for her stars,which start gathering buzz from the time they are announced. Like her brother Sajid,Farah knows the power of publicity. Her so-called fallout with dear friend SRK became a hilarious set-piece line in a film early this year,where her throwaway dialogue,“Don’t worry Shah Rukh,I’ll do my next film with you”,drew knowing laughs from the audience. She appeared as herself,a successful director calling all the shots,and you remember her cameo more than the film.

Her next is with Akshay Kumar,a sliding star desperately in need of a hit. Tees Maar Khan is a clever little jibe disguised as a film title. Will it also be a film? Knowing Farah’s gifts,I rather suspect not.

shubhra.gupta @expressindia.com