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Farah Khan and Karan Johar’s friendship goes a long way back, all the way to Aditya Chopra’s 1995 seminal directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, in which the former choreographed a song and the latter was an actor as well as an Assistant Director. They went on to collaborate on several of Karan’s blockbuster directorials and production ventures.
But it’s a lesser known fact that one thing that Farah would approach Karan for in the early 2000s is to read her tarot cards. “He was the best tarot card reader I ever went to. He’s also my very good friend. I didn’t tell him that I’m seeing Shirish,” recalled Farah. She dated editor Shirish Kunder, who’s seven years younger than her, before tying the knot with him in 2004.
“Karan opened my cards and said, ‘B*tch! You haven’t told me you’re seeing somebody.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Listen, this person is very good for you. Look at this card. Just marry this person.’ He’s fabulous,” said Farah Khan in an old interview on ZEE Cafe. Farah and Shirish have now been married for 21 years and are parents to triplets.
Farah Khan also revealed that after reading her tarot cards, Karan Johar strongly suggested she release her 2007 reincarnation saga Om Shanti Om on Diwali, even though Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s romantic drama Saawariya was already slated for a release that day. “I asked him, ‘Should we come on that date or not?’ He said, ‘Don’t let this date go,'” recalled Farah.
Om Shanti Om, which reunited director Farah with Shah Rukh Khan three years after their 2004 blockbuster Main Hoon Na, turned out to be an even bigger hit. It earned over Rs 90 crore at the domestic box office, thus becoming the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema till then. Meanwhile, Saawariya bombed at the box office despite Bhansali’s track record.
Before Saawariya, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had delivered a hattrick of hits with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999, Devdas (starring Shah Rukh Khan) in 2002, and Black in 2005. Saawariya marked the launchpad of future stars Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, and also featured Salman Khan and Rani Mukerji in extended cameos, but it earned only Rs 22 crore at the domestic box office.
The clash between Om Shanti Om and Saawariya also escalated to a point that it caused a fallout between both makers. Farah recalled she made up with Bhansali when they met at a kids’ birthday party. He even offered Farah her maiden acting role in his sister Bela Segal’s 2012 romantic comedy Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, which also bombed at the box office. “So, he took revenge on me after that actually, by offering me that film,” Farah quipped.
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