Director Farah Khan recently spoke about her equation with actor Akshaye Khanna and how it evolved over the years. The filmmaker admitted that there was a time in the 1990s when she avoided working with Akshaye because he used to be “constantly irritable” on set, but said her opinion changed after collaborating with him later.
Speaking on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, Farah said that during 1990s, Akshaye was dealing with hair loss, which she believes made him frequently irritable on set.
“In the ’90s, I did a couple of movies with Akshaye, and after that I was traumatised. Because he used to be a different person. Yes, introverted, but not a nice person on set,” she said.
"Whenever I heard that Akshaye Khanna was in a film, I used to say, ‘I don’t have the dates’. I think at that time, he himself had said, he was losing hair. He was constantly irritable. He used to throw things and say, ‘What kind of dialogue is this?’ He used to be that kind of person,” she added.
Farah, however, later worked with the actor for her cousin Farhan Akhtar’s debut directorial Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and said her view of the actor changed. She added that by that time Akshaye had completely changed and had become more comfortable with his hair. According to her, after Dil Chahta Hai his attitude became much more relaxed.
The filmmaker noted that earlier, if a scene involved water or rain, he would often wear a cap – pointing out that in many rain songs, such as those in Taal, he followed that pattern.
Farah also described him as a brilliant dancer, adding that in the song ‘Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe’ from Dil Chahta Hai, he danced better than Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan.
Farah also shared that she now shares a warm rapport with Khanna and even congratulated him after watching Dhurandhar. “What I like about him is that he is not about the fluff, he is about the work. He enjoys acting,” she said.
Akshaye’s role as Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar was lauded by the audiences. His scenes and his dance on the song ‘Fa9la’ also went viral on social media after the film released.
