Actor Nikhat Khan, who was last seen in the film Pathaan (2023), says her family follows Raksha Bandhan “with shiddat”. In the run-up to the festival, the actor tells us it’s one of the family’s cherished occasions, and which they look forward to celebrating at younger brother, actor-producer Aamir Khan’s house.

“Raksha Bandhan is something we always celebrate with a lot of joy. This time, too, we will be celebrating, but my sister Farhat (the youngest of the four Khan siblings) is abroad, so we will miss her and I will do the rituals on her behalf. Last year, I was travelling, so she did it for me. Usually, we go to Aamir’s house and we do the little ritual of tika, with diya and mithai. Us din sweets ka bhi koi parhez nahin rehta, khila hi dete hain!” beams Nikhat.

Like every family, the Khan clan, too, has their unique twist to the festival. “Aamir ties us Rakhi too — ki aisa nahin hai ki only he has to protect us; we, too, have to protect him. So, hum unko aur woh humko Rakhi bandhtey hain, which is very sweet,” Nikhat says.

What does she feel is the best part of celebrating Raksha Bandhan? “That we remind each other, ki hum hain! It’s a nice feeling. Special ho jata hai. Shiddat ke saath karte hain and when kids also see all this, they also understand our social fabric,” she tells us.

Khan says the bond between the siblings has deepened over the years. “Thankfully, we get the opportunity to meet each other frequently as we stay in the same building, all of us — me, Aamir and Faisal. Only my sister is not here as she has moved to London. Our ammi (Zeenat Hussain) is also here, and mashallah, she is 90 now. Her not keeping well in the past two years has brought us even closer together,” she wraps up.