While her counterparts are busy creating content for digital platforms, Farah Khan Kunder, who’s been away from directing movies for nearly a decade, says that she wants to focus only on directing for the big screen. In a chat with BT, she talks about her break from direction, future plans and how tricky it is to judge dance reality shows. Read on...

Farah last directed Happy New Year in 2014. Before that, she helmed Main Hoon Na (2004) and Om Shanti Om (2007). Ask her about her long hiatus, and she says, “Now my kids are in the tenth grade. They study on their own, so I don’t have to look into it much. So, I can step back into my director’s boots. I think the time for it has come.”

Currently, many filmmakers have taken to directing web shows and films. But Farah has a different plan. She says, “I have been offered web shows. I am not averse to making them, but it’s just that if I have to make a comeback, then I would rather do it with a big-screen movie. If I am doing something after so many years, it has to be for the big screen.”

Currently, Farah is enjoying every bit of the one thing she loves doing – being a judge on a reality show. She will be seen sharing the dias with co-judges Malaika Arora and Arshad Warsi in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 11. The show features celebrity contestants from different walks of life, so when it comes to judging them and giving feedback, does she have to be a little more careful?

Farah replies, “It is quite tricky when you are judging a celebrity-based dance show. You have to be careful with your words because everybody is a master in their own field. When youngsters come on the show, they are fresh and are more accepting of criticism. Overall, criticism is hard for anyone to accept, but yes, celebrities can’t take criticism. I know they can’t! Why only them, even I can’t take it. The first reaction is anger and hurt. So, there’s a way of telling them and motivating them to do better. And over the years, I have learnt that. After all, everybody is coming here to win. I always believe in giving advice and not being too harsh or critical of anything.”

Looking back at her own journey as a dancer and choreographer, Farah gets nostalgic. She shares, “We never had such platforms back then, but we used to have this huge dance competition every year held at a five-star hotel. We used to practise throughout the year for that one performance. We had our own dance groups. If someone needed a breakdance group, then we used to go and dance in movies. Arshad (Warsi) and I used to dance together for shows. We would also compete against each other in competitions. And now, we are judging this show together... it makes me nostalgic.”