‘First learn your lines’: Farah Khan takes a dig at today’s actors for interfering in everything

Filmmaker, choreographer and YouTuber Farah Khan has drawn a comparison between the mindset of today’s actors and the superstars of the industry, including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Farah said that one of the biggest differences between the superstars and the current generation of actors is the confidence these actors have in themselves and their ability to trust the people they work with. She believes that the current generation lacks that confidence and instead, interferes in departments that are not their responsibility.

Speaking about how actors today want to be involved in everything, Farah told Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi in a conversation for their vlog, “The problem is that actors don’t have confidence in anyone. They don’t have confidence in the director, they want to choreograph the songs themselves, they want to interfere in music also, they want to get involved in casting as well. That all comes when you are not confident about themselves. If you are confident about yourself then they’ll trust.”

She then recalled working with Shah Rukh Khan on Main Hoon Na (2014) and Om Shanti Om (2007), and how the actor never questioned her casting decisions. Farah Khan said, “Like Shah Rukh has never interfered in casting. When I said that I want Sushmita Sen, she was not some big heroine. Any big heroine would have come and done Main Hoon Na (2014). He didn’t question. When I said I need a new heroine for Om Shanti Om, he didn’t question. He just saw the photo and said, ‘You’re good with her, then fine.’ Everyone wants to do everybody else’s job. They are not confident about themselves.”

Deepika Padukone was paired opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om. And now, they are gearing up for their sixth film, King, which releases on December 24, this year.

Farah Khan also spoke about what it takes to become a superstar, pointing out that an unwavering work ethic is very important. She cited Shah Rukh, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman and Akshay Kumar as examples of actors who continue to work as hard as they did when they started their careers.

When Angad Bedi asked Farah, “What makes a superstar?”, she replied, “First of all, there’s a belief in yourself, also hard work. All these guys work till now, as hard as they worked in their first film. Shah Rukh works harder now, I think. Amitabh Bachchan works hard. Probably he must have not worked that hard when he started his career. You see him on KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati). You see Salman, he works every day. He has never said, ‘I will not shoot on Sunday. Today, is my off or now I am going on a holiday.’ He doesn’t do it. Akshay Kumar comes there and he is shooting everyday, every hour. He has his ‘I need holiday’ but he is so planned that he keeps everyone on their toes. But coming there and discussing and saying, ‘Okay, now, change this. Only these many? Add more 200 dancers.’ That is not your job ya, you do your f****g job ya, you first learn your lines. That is your job, to know your lines when you come on set. You don’t know that.”

Also Read: Farah Khan recalls shouting at Shah Rukh Khan: ‘Didn’t dare scold Amitabh Bachchan’

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During the conversation, Farah also expressed her frustration with the entourage culture among stars, referring to their entourages as “minions”. She also questioned the IQ level of the actors, who are just surrounded by the same bunch of people.

Recently, filmmaker Karan Johar also expressed his concern over the growing entourage culture. He told Variety India that when he started Koffee With Karan, he used to look beyond the stage, and would find nobody there. And, now there are publicists, managers, image-management people, teams, along with the hair and makeup entourage, which is increasing substantially.

Eminent filmmaker Priyadarshan also called out Bollywood’s entourage culture and told The Hollywood Reporter that he gets exhausted to see 30 people roaming around with 3 actors and doing nothing. He also added, this culture is mainly prevalent in Bollywood, and is the one aspect which he despises.

However, actors-producers, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh, have a different opinion. They believe that when a producer casts actors, they know what they are signing up for. In an earlier interview with SCREEN, the Raja Shivaji actor said, “I think every film has its own economics. And, I truly believe that when you are considering a certain actor, by that time, you get well versed with the kind of entourage or whatever the person is going to come with, and having accounted for all that if you think it’s still viable then you’ll approach the actor.”

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“If there’s an entourage cost that doesn’t work for you, I think it’s your choice to say no as a producer. If it’s not working then there can be a discussion,” opined Genelia.