Farah Khan, who subbed for Rohit Shetty for the special edition of his stunt reality show, admits she’s terrified of creepy crawlies
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 28, 2020)

On Sunday, Farah Khan posted a picture of herself from the set of Khatron Ke Khiladi—Made In India, at Film City, exulting that being back at a shoot is a “Top Of The World” feeling. Posing beside a bike with a helmet in hand, she looked every inch the daredevil host of a stunt reality show, but the filmmaker insists she was far from one.

“The channel warned me I couldn’t feel sorry for the contestants, most of whom I know from before, and tell them they could abort the task whenever they were in pain. But the fact is that I’m the first host on the show who was actually scared,” the director-choreographer chuckles, admitting that while she does not fear heights, some of the outdoor stunts in the curtain-raiser episodes made her worry. “For instance, when a car goes underwater, it can be really scary. And it would take a lot of money to make me get anywhere near creepy crawlies.”

Rithvik Dhanjani, Harsh Limbachiyaa, Rashami Desai, Nia Sharma, Jasmine Bhasin, Aly Goni, Jay Bhanushali and Karan Wahi are tackling their fears for this special edition of the show which is being shot entirely in India, Mumbai to be specific. Farah filled in for filmmaker-friend Rohit Shetty for the first weekend and acknowledges that it’s not something she ever saw herself doing. “But as the only woman director who’s had a lot of action in her films and a reality show junkie, I was on board in a flash when Rohit asked me to,” says Farah, who has hosted chat and cookery shows of her own and been a judge on several editions of Indian Idol and Nach Baliye. “Unlike Rohit, who can perform the stunts he gives the contestants, I was a funny host who kept spirits high.”

Her biggest fear was stepping out amidst the Coronavirus pandemic and she carried a suitcase full of essentials, including a bedsheet to cover her vanity van sofa, towels and napkins on all three days of the shoot. “The joy of being on a set is that you meet people and hug them, but here I was spraying everyone’s hands with sanitisers like it was puja ka prasad and screaming at them to wear masks. Even the food that I took along had to be sent to individual vanity vans,” she rues.

Insisting that this is the new norm and the sooner we accept it the better, she points out that after the 9/11 terror attacks, the travelling protocol changed completely and after the initial grouses, everyone accepted it as the norm. “I’ve never seen so many people out on the streets; it’s like a party out there. If people who don’t need to venture out, stay home, people who have to work can step out. I was adamant about not stepping out for any reason apart from work,” she grumbles.

However, having finished her part of the shoot, Farah is now isolating herself in a bedroom for the next seven-10 days and will only surface after she gets tested. “Shirish (Kunder, filmmaker-husband) has been shifted out of the bedroom and I think he’s enjoying the break,” she laughs, adding that her kids, who were in shock when they heard about her hosting the Indian Fear Factor, now think she’s cool. “We stand at each other’s bedroom doors and pretend to hug. They are on a break from school currently, so Anya and Diva have started a virtual party planning venture. Czar was labelled ‘irritating’ and fired by the girls. Now he’s looking for a job,” she deadpans.

Will she join Rohit to wrap up the show that she kicked off? “That depends on how the first two episodes fare. But I’d love to,” she signs off.