A clear shift is visible in the streaming and television segments of India’s entertainment industry. To deal with the challenges emanating from short audience attention span and availability of copious amounts of content, leading streaming platforms and channels are designing non-fiction shows around the public image of Bollywood celebrities instead of merely presenting them as show hosts.

Shows such as Crime Patrol (SonyLiv) (Ajay Devgn, serious, Singham-cop and Drishyam-family-man image), India Ke Top 1% (Star Plus) (Anil Kapoor, energetic and larger-than-life image), Lock Upp (Netflix) (Farah Khan, bold, irreverent, Riteish Deshmukh, funny, approachable image), and The Traitors (Amazon Prime) (Karan Johar, Bollywood insider, gossip, theatrical image) are synergistic collaboration between Bollywood celebrities and show-creators and not merely filling the space of a celebrity host.

These collaborations are helping streamers and channels build strong intellectual properties (IPs) of non-fiction shows around celebrities, channel heads, brand experts and industry veterans told ET.

These non-fiction programmes around a celebrity show a different side of their personality which is in sync with the shows’ content, said channel heads.

“Beyond immediate recognition and strong start, the idea behind these non-fiction shows is to use celebrities as a doorway to an experience that audiences never had with them,” said Harsh Sheth, business head, Sony Entertainment Television. “These shows give audiences a chance to know the person, her views and journeys behind a personality. It makes them more relatable.”

A JioStar spokesperson said a personality must serve a show’s format and the format must deliver to the audience. “When a show’s format and concept is in sync with a personality’s public image, it makes the proposition even stronger,” added the spokesperson. The spokesperson cited non-fiction shows such as Bigg Boss and Koffee With Karan.

Such collaborations are also favourable for advertisers. “For advertisers, a celebrity-led show can be a relatively cost-effective way to get a celebrity association,” said Shailesh Kapoor, founder and chief executive of Ormax Media. “A brand may not be able to afford a direct endorsement deal with someone like Amitabh Bachchan. But by sponsoring Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), it can still have him talk about the brand on the show. That makes the show easier to sell, especially when television faces uncertainty over ratings and viewing habits.”

Harsh Sheth of Sony cited Google Gemini’s recent association with the current season of KBC as an effective advertiser-show collaboration. “The mentions of Google Gemini on the KBC show resulted in spikes in search interest and app downloads,” he said.

According to brand experts, a show will sustain audience interest only when the public image of the celebrity matches the show’s content expectations.

“In television, where there is no clear TRP-based currency, bargaining power becomes important. A channel or platform with a strong property in the form of a big celebrity can demand a better deal,” said Sandeep Goyal, managing director at advertising company Rediffusion.

“But this advantage is short-lived. Today, word-of-mouth communication is very strong. By the second or third week, people know whether a celebrity-based show is working,” he added.

In the past, when celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra and Arjun Kapoor hosted the non-fiction show Khatron Ke Khiladi, the show’s ratings were not strong enough because audiences did not see them as a natural fit for the format. But when director Rohit Shetty began hosting the show, it grew bigger because his image matched its core idea of stunts and adventure, said Kapoor of Ormax Media.

Murali Sharma has spent over two decades slipping into vastly different characters across Hindi and South cinema. Now, as he makes his OTT debut with Super Subbu, he says the size of a role has never mattered as much as what he can bring to it.

“I only look at how much I can contribute to a character. I’ve never gone by the length of a role. I’ve been fortunate to play different roles. People call me the quintessential father in Telugu cinema, but I’ve never worried about being typecast. Every role deserves your absolute best.”

Sharma recalls that recognition didn’t come overnight. “My friends had something called the ‘Spot Murli Contest’ because I’d usually be standing behind the villain or a minister in a safari suit,” he laughs. He says things changed after Maqbool and Main Hoon Na released in 2004.

“I’m grateful to Vishal Bhardwaj and Farah Khan. Those films changed everything. I still remember a group of college students recognizing me at a theatre in Vashi. It was a thrilling moment,” he says.

Talking about what attracted him to his character Kukuteshwar Rao or Kuku, in Super Subbu, he says, “I loved the way he walks, talks and carries himself. He’s irritating, yet interesting enough to keep you watching. I enjoy creating those little details. I wanted my OTT debut to be special. There were offers before, but I’m glad I waited because Super Subbu felt right.”

A chandelier glows above the stage, its crystal droplets catching the light and sending it pouring over white feathers and fresh flowers that emerge from its centre. As the bride and groom make an entrance, it lowers slowly over the dance floor and the room gasps as one. Nothing about its framework would suggest that under the glass and blooms sit hidden tiers of deliciously moist chocolate cake, one of Rushina Mehrotra’s edible engineering marvels.

Mehrotra, 47, has spent the past 16 years building cakes for everyone from the Ambanis to Bollywood names such as Shahid Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Farah Khan. Yet the founder of Andheri-based Daffodils Creations still describes her career as a happy accident. “I always wanted to start a business of my own, but I wasn’t sure what line I would work in,” she says.

She was no stranger to the world of entrepreneurship. Mehrotra grew up in a family where sweets were part of everyday life. Her father, Hasmukh Bhimjiyani, is the force behind Trupti Sweets, one of Mumbai’s longstanding mithai institutions, and conversations at home often drifted from family matters to discussions about quality, customers and the realities of running a business. “Growing up in that environment naturally influenced me,” she says.

But she was also drawn to sport. Back when she was a student at The Bai BS Bengallee Girl’s High School, in Churchgate, she spent hours at the National Sports Club of India in Worli, where she played snooker with her father.

What began as a father-daughter pastime soon turned competitive. Mehrotra went on to play at the national level during an era when women’s snooker in India was still a rarity. “There were probably fewer than ten women competing across the country at the time,” she says.

She even remembers defeating Anuja Thakur, the reigning national champion, a result that remains one of her proudest sporting achievements.

If her business instincts came from her father, she credits her creative side to her mother, Sudha. “She was a homemaker, but had an artistic bent”, Mehrotra says, of Sudha, who would handcraft Ganpati idols at home each year during the festival season.

An MBA in marketing at MET university in 2002 led to nearly a decade in corporate roles, but after the birth of her first child Aaryaman, now 17, she began to question that path. “I could have continued juggling work and family, but it didn’t feel fulfilling,” she says. Around the same time, she began noticing customized cakes gain traction abroad. They were becoming expressions of personality over just desserts. India, she suspected, would not be far behind.

That’s what led to the launch of Daffodils Creations in 2009, “from a small kitchen inside the Trupti factory in CP Tank,” which, often, just delivered one order a week. Things changed in 2011, when filmmaker Farah Khan tried one of her cakes at a party and commissioned one for Abhishek Bachchan’s birthday: a giant burger built around an inside joke, complete with fries, pizza and soda on the side.

“That order gave me the confidence to quit my job and pursue baking full-time,” Mehrotra says. Khan became a regular client and opened doors to a wider circle, resulting in commissions for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s productions to a life-sized guitar cake made for Ed Sheeran during a visit to Khan’s home.

Her husband, Amit, backed the leap, helping her set up a 250-square-foot studio in Andheri, closer to her marital home. “That gave me the freedom to build the business without financial pressure,” she says, of the studio that has, since, grown into an 1,800-square-foot operation with a team of 15, its own delivery service, and a weekly output of 150 to 200 cakes alongside dessert tables of macarons, cookies, doughnuts and French entremets.

One features a gym enthusiast mid-workout; another balances a construction-themed cake atop a boy performing a headstand. An ocean-inspired creation relies on the tentacles of a giant orange octopus to create the illusion that the entire structure is suspended in mid-air. Her goal isn’t just to make a cake look realistic; she wants it to feel alive.

That ambition often demands as much engineering as artistry. For Prithvi Ambani’s third birthday, son of Shloka and Akash Ambani, Mehrotra transformed a venue into a sugar-dusted Candyland. At its centre stood a jellybean globe surrounded by balancing figures, towering lollipops and gravity-defying sweets. For Kiara Advani, commissioned by Sidharth Malhotra’s team, she created a “Born to Shop” cake complete with miniature Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana storefronts.

Behind every creation lies a lengthy planning process. “Ironically, the planning often takes longer than making the cake itself,” she says. Conversations with clients can stretch across days as details about the occasion, guest list and personality of the celebrant are translated into a design.

For all the attention her creations attract, flavour remains non-negotiable. Belgian chocolate remains the bestseller because, as Mehrotra says, “it’s a crowd-pleaser”. Smaller gatherings leave more room for experimentation. Pistachio raspberry, Biscoff mango and mango ras malai rank among her most popular combinations, the last drawing inspiration from her family’s confectionery roots.

At home, conversely, there is no extravagance. Despite growing up surrounded by some of the city’s most elaborate cakes, her sons Aaryaman and Riaan, 11, are happiest with simple birthday cakes like cheesecakes.

And to her, after all these years, what still matters most are the reactions. The videos and messages that arrive after a celebration remind her why she began. “A cake is so much more than dessert,” she says. Each one is built for a moment that cannot be repeated: a child celebrating their birthday, a family reunited around a table, and a couple stepping into a new chapter. By the end of the night, little remains except crumbs and photographs. Yet those moments have a way of staying put, long after the sugar has melted away. “And that’s what makes it so magical,” she says.

Farah Khan believes in moving with the times rather than waiting for opportunities. The filmmaker and choreographer reflects on reinventing herself, her successful foray into digital content, collaborating with Aryan Khan and why she’s content letting films happen in their own time.

From choreographer to filmmaker, YouTube creator and now host of the reality show Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa, Farah believes staying relevant means constantly evolving. Speaking about her successful transition into social media content creation with Farah Khan’s Kitchen, she says, “You have to keep up with the times. I’ve always believed in reinventing myself. I was a dancer, then became a choreographer, then a director, followed by a TV reality show judge. I like to do new things. I believe films will happen when they do. Instead of waiting, I chose to do different things.”

Farah believes audiences connected with the show’s honesty. “People took to the organic nature of the show. Literally, it is a slice of life. And I am savvy enough to know that I like seeing other people’s houses. I want to see what’s in their kitchen. So, whatever I like to watch, is what I put out on my show. I knew my cook Dilip would click from episode one. I talk to him exactly the same way off camera.”

Ask the director who has helmed films like Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, when she will return to that space and she admits, “Har cheez ka time hota hai. Jab uska time hoga, woh bhi aa jayega. I have stopped worrying and fretting about things for quite some time now. At this age, I can’t be worried and anxious about things.”

Interestingly, while she has directed Shah Rukh Khan over the years, she recently found herself working with his son, Aryan Khan. She choreographed the song Ghafoor for his directorial debut series The Ba***ds Of Bollywood.

“I got a chance to choreograph Ghafoor and how wonderful was that. Aryan is a fabulous director. I loved how he made that series. I just loved that he was filmy and commercial. When aspiring filmmakers from here go abroad to study filmmaking, you always worry that they will become the arty-farty types. But he was so filmi and all his references were on point. I love him.”

Would she like to direct Aryan someday? Farah laughs before throwing the question back. “Will Aryan want to act? I don’t think so.”

While she’s made memorable appearances in projects like Khichdi and more recently Toaster, Farah says acting is something she has absolutely no interest in pursuing. “I hate acting. I find the whole process extremely boring. It is not suited for my personality. When I’m on a set as a director, I’m in charge of things. While acting, it is different. Having said that, I think I did a good job in Khichdi and Toaster. I can only be myself. I’m not an actor. I can only play my own personality well.”

Farah Khan has worn many hats over the years — choreographer, filmmaker, YouTuber and now the host of Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa on Netflix. Bringing her trademark wit and no-nonsense attitude to the reality show, Farah believes the latest season’s biggest strength lies in its refreshingly unpredictable mix of contestants. In a chat with Mirror, she opens up about the casting that surprised even her, why she had very little role in selecting the inmates, and the toughest challenge of judging people she has known for decades.

“The teams have done a fabulous job of getting these contestants,” Farah says, adding, “They are all so different and not the kind of people you regularly see on reality shows. Whether it’s Shivangi Joshi, Harshad Chopda, Ram Kapoor, Akanksha Chamola, Varun... It’s such a mixed bunch. Who would have thought Madhuri Grover would come on a reality show? Or Sunita Ahuja? Because of that, you got a completely different kind of content. They’re not just fighter cocks; they offer varied content.”

Despite being the face of the show, Farah reveals she had very little involvement in the casting process. She says, “They had already started locking contestants much before they came to me. There’s a whole team that interviews and vets them. If I feel somebody would be good, I tell them, ‘Isko try kar lo,’ but this time I came on board much later, so I didn’t have much of a role in it.”

The bigger challenge, she admits, is putting personal equations aside once the cameras start rolling. “That’s the most difficult part because I’ve known Ram Kapoor for so long. Not everyone knows that I choreographed the song Chunari Chunari in Monsoon Wedding (which features him). I have known Sunita and Govinda since childhood. Govinda’s sister was our neighbour, and Krushna Abhishek was born there. I know Madhuri and Ashneer Grover (her husband)… so many of them personally.”

But familiarity doesn’t earn anyone special treatment. In fact, Farah insists it’s quite the opposite. She shares, “When I’m doing this job, I have to be honest to the job. In fact, I think the closer you are to me, the more you get it from me because I take that liberty. Ram really got it from me in the first week. He also took the liberty of talking back because he has known me for so long. But the following week, he apologized. He said, ‘I’m really sorry I spoke to you like that.’”

For Farah, the rules are simple once she steps on stage. “When Riteish and I are standing there, it has to be about the show. Whoever deserves an earful has to get an earful. Personal relationships can’t come in the way,” she says.

Dancer and choreographer Dharmesh Yelande believes emotional backstories in dance reality shows work only when they are genuine, saying fabricated narratives take away from the essence of the performance.

Sharing his perspective, Dharmesh offers a balanced take. “Initially, I used to like it because I used to connect with their stories,” he says. However, he also acknowledges the changing preferences of audiences today. “I understand that now some people feel they want to see more dance and fewer stories,” he adds.

Dharmesh draws a clear line when it comes to authenticity. According to him, fabricated emotional narratives are where the problem lies. “I don’t like it if the stories are fake. Some contestants have real stories, and I would like to hear them. I also feel there is an audience for that as well —people who enjoy hearing these stories along with the dance,” he shares.

Beyond television, Dharmesh also reflects on his brief experience with Bollywood choreography. He worked on the film Tees Maar Khan after being given the opportunity by Farah Khan. He says, “Farah ma’am gave me that opportunity. And when I did that, I realized that I am not made for film choreography. I don’t have much interest in that area, and after that I never took up any other films.”

Amid chatter that Wheel Of Fortune India has been renewed for a second season, host Akshay Kumar recently shot for the grand finale. For the superstar, the episode brought both — the hope of meeting the audience again for a new season, and a sense of nostalgia as he walked down memory lane with Farah Khan, Bhumi Pednekkar, and Jacqueline Fernandez.

A source told mid-day that the channel is keen to continue with the actor, given his high audience engagement. The source shared, “The decision to move ahead with the next season has been influenced by contestants, who love the laughter and nostalgia that Akshay evokes.”

The final episode is a perfect example of that. Apparently, Kumar shared a warm anecdote about Farah and her brother Sajid Khan’s childhood that left the audience in splits. He revealed that the siblings would often go to the theatre to watch movies, with their mother Menaka Irani preparing sandwiches for their outings.

Kumar shared, “Farah would beat her brother during the interval, and you’ll be shocked to hear why. [It’s because] he would eat up the onions, tomatoes, eggs, and potatoes in the sandwiches, leaving just the bread for her! Does anybody beat up their brother for this?”

Huma Qureshi sports a radiant glow in white ethnic wear as she celebrates Eid with a special shoot for us. For her, it isn’t merely a festival; it’s a feeling, a ritual of togetherness, and a gentle reminder of all that truly matters.

While this year, it’ll be a celebration at home, among her fondest memories is a chaotic, joy-filled Eid from her college days. “I came home late, and 17 of my girlfriends had already landed. The food had gone cold, but no one cared. We just sat and ate thanda khana – biryani, korma – while my mother kept yelling at us,” she recounts.

Talking about what Eid signifies for her, Huma says, “Sharing with friends, family, people around you, your community, and perhaps people who are less privileged than you are. Ramzan is a month when we do a lot of things – whether it’s iftar or just sharing whatever we’re eating and opening our table out to friends and others. I think it’s a very important part of who we are as a family. I have a bunch of friends whom I don’t even need to invite. If it’s Eid, they’ll come home. The relationship is not just with me, but also with my family and mother. They want to have uske haat ka khana.”

For Huma, Ramzan is less about grand gestures and more about mindful pauses. “We often forget to take a moment, pause and be genuinely grateful for what we have in our daily life,” she says.

For Huma, Eid fashion was serious business growing up. “What will I wear? Salwar kameez or lehenga? It was a proper discussion when I was a kid,” she laughs. Then came the real highlight – eidi. “All of us cousins would stand in a line after namaz and collect money from every elder. Then we’d try to sneak back in again. The day would end with counting, comparing and of course, chocolates.”

Eid memories for Huma cannot be complete without her actor-brother, Saqib Saleem. She shares, “I remember stealing his money! We would have lots of fights over chocolates, because he would save them and I would finish mine.” Cooking, she admits candidly, is not her strength. “Unfortunately, I have not learned how to make a good biryani, but I definitely know where to find a good biryani and to appreciate it. That’s also an art,” she says with a grin.

Yash: The film Toxic, I’ve already got my Eidi.

Saqib Saleem: Undivided attention and time

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Already got my Eidi—we’ve worked together

Farah Khan: I don't want any Eidi from her. She sends me so much food like every week. Maybe she should stop sending me so much food! (Laughs)

Rachit Singh: A free acting workshop. He is the best.

Tara Sutaria: She should just keep smiling all the time. She has a gorgeous smile.

Earlier this year, YouTube hosted its annual FanFest in Mumbai to celebrate its biggest creators in beauty, comedy, gaming, music and more. In attendance were screaming fans, waiting to get face-time with their virtual heroes. Everything about this annual event was ‘Gen-Z coded’, except for one aberration. Making her debut among the hottest digital stars was 60-year-old filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan.

“I felt very weird to be there with teenagers running around. But after five minutes, I started to feel good. Some of the creators were barely 20 and making so much money. There’s something to learn from them. We just live in our film industry bubble. This world is far bigger,” says Khan.

Fully committing to the vibe of the event, Khan came in an oversized sweatshirt and did a quick jig to her popular song ‘Sheila Ki Jawaani’. The kids who pulled out their phones to capture the moment may not even be fully clued into Khan’s illustrious body of work. To them, she’s the fun YouTuber with famous friends they discovered last year.

“The data shows that my target audience is 18-25 years. Also, 49% of viewing is done on TV screens which means it’s becoming a dinner-time watch for families,” says Khan.

Viraj Sheth, co-founder and CEO of Monk-E, which represents leading influencers, says Khan’s cooking videos and daily-life vlogs have bridged the generation gap.

“She feels like a ‘cool-mom’ figure who’s self-aware and genuinely having fun. It shows that relatability and humour still beat filters and transitions,” he says. “She has cracked the format all YouTubers dream of: access to the biggest celebrities, tours of their homes and candid glimpses of them cooking.”

That said, with the rich and famous now voluntarily turning into podcasters or vloggers, access is no longer a premium commodity. But authenticity is. There’s an overload of celebrities showing us their skin-care regimen and secret smoothie recipes, and viewers instantly sniff out anything that feels disingenuous or performative. Khan understands this better than most.

“So many celebrities ask, ‘Can you pay for our hair and make-up?’ and I say, ‘Please don’t do this’. People want to see you as you are in your house. I don’t even get my own hair and make-up done. I come in normal clothes that I’ve bought online, and chappals. We start shooting from the time I ring their doorbell. Nothing is scripted, there are no retakes,” says Khan.

Thanks to her, we know which celebrity has the noisiest mixer-grinder or can’t turn on the gas. Khan ribs Ashneer Grover about having too many photos of himself in the house, musician Shankar Mahadevan for struggling with his state-of-the-art oven, and actor Sonu Sood for running out of paneer. 

“Even when we were shooting with Shilpa (Shetty), we burnt the cashews for the payasam. She said, ‘Let’s start again.’ I said, ‘Not a chance.’ This is the best content,” says Khan. She further humanizes her wealthy guests by gifting them humble household items — one can watch Karan Johar look excited about receiving a pressure cooker and induction stove.

The other crucial ingredient to Khan’s secret sauce is Dilip — her cook of 12 years who accompanies her to celebrity homes. Khan has unknowingly given us one of the greatest underdog stories of the internet. “Someone jokingly said, ‘He’s the country’s first nepo-cook’,” she laughs.

Viewers are deeply invested in Dilip’s rise, cheering on as he jets off to the Maldives on his first international trip or stars in a commercial with Shah Rukh Khan. One of the highest-watched videos on Khan’s channel is a tour of Dilip’s new home in his village in Bihar.

“It all started in my kitchen with me cooking my Yakhni pulav. I thought, oh god, now I have to do all the cutting and chopping too. So, I caught Dilip. Also, I needed to roast someone and this is how I actually talk to him,” she says.

“I don’t think he has fully understood what has happened, which is good. I don’t want him to become ‘dedh shaana’ (oversmart). But he’s very excited about the money he’s making. We’ve got him a chartered accountant now.”

And he must need one. Khan and Dilip have hit the endorsement jackpot with their fun Tom-and-Jerry-esque act. From clay face masks to dishwashing liquid, they’re selling it all. “I kid you not, we now get brands that want both of them, and not just Farah. It’s the everyday banter between them that brands see massive value in because it appeals across demographics,” says Sheth. Khan says she personally tests every brand before collaborating. “I tell all the brands, let’s be authentic about it. Whenever they don’t listen, the reel doesn’t do as well,” she adds.

The barrage of brand collaborations has sparked online chatter about Khan becoming one of the country’s highest-paid creators. Khan added fuel to it when she recently revealed on a podcast that she’s earning more as a content creator than she did from Bollywood.

“People are obsessed about this which is why I should not have said it. My son came and asked me, ‘Are you really worth this much!’ It’s all exaggerated. All I meant was that for all the films I’ve made so far, the IP doesn’t belong to me. I got a fee as a writer or director. But this YouTube channel is my IP. It belongs to me, and Qyuki Digital Media has a stake. There is something very empowering about that,” she says.

And to Dilip’s fans who are worried if he’s being fairly compensated, Khan ends by saying, “Please tell people that Dilip is very happy and don’t worry, I am a fair and generous person.”

Actor-couple Rajkummar Rao (41) and Patralekhaa (35) embraced parenthood on their fourth wedding anniversary, November 15, welcoming a baby girl into their family. The couple shared the happy news on Saturday in a joint Instagram post (inset), writing, “The greatest blessing God has given us on our 4th wedding anniversary.”

Friends and well-wishers from the film industry, including actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Ali Fazal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Malaika Arora, Vijay Varma, and others, flooded the comments with love and congratulations.

Director Farah Khan also shared adorable pictures from their recent intimate baby shower, writing, “Congratulations! Enjoy this beautiful phase of life and remember, for any baby advice, main hoon na! P.S. @iamhumaq, thankfully we managed to have the baby shower just in time!”

Rajkummar and Patralekhaa, who tied the knot in 2021 after over a decade of dating, had announced their pregnancy in July with an adorable post featuring a drawing of a cradle and the words ‘Baby on the way,’ simply captioned, “Elated”.

Veteran actor Satish Shah, beloved for his roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984), Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Main Hoon Na (2004), passed away at his Mumbai residence on Saturday. He was 74. An FTII graduate, Shah began with small yet striking roles in Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), Gaman (1979) and Umrao Jaan (1981), before becoming a cult favourite as the corrupt D’Mello in Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro . From Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994) to Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Shah’s warmth and comic timing defined an era of Hindi cinema. Tributes have been pouring in from actors and contemporaries who worked with him, celebrating a performer who made laughter timeless.

Anupam Kher paid tribute to the late actor with an emotional video on Instagram. “What is happening? In the past 3-4 days so many good people have left, that too the ones that have worked with me. Behind this empty smile of mine is a lot of sadness. Satish Shah... I used to say Satish mere Shah (Satish, my king),” he said in the video.

“He was a great friend of mine, it is just shocking. I am revisiting Switzerland where we shot Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and I saw the news that Satish Shah is no more. He was in Dilwale and Hum Aapke Hain Koun and in so many more. He used to laugh and make us laugh,” he added.

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The heavens will be a merrier and a happier place now. Satish ji will make the Gods laugh out loud as they admire their own creation. Thank you for being such a solid wind beneath my wings early on in my career… for constantly believing in me and egging me on – R Madhavan, Shah’s co-star, in 1997 TV show Jamai Raja

We’ve lost a great artiste & my dearest friend of over 40 years. It’s hard to believe – I had spoken to him just two days ago. Satish Bhai, you will truly be missed. Your immense contribution to film and television will never be forgotten – Johny Lever

“Loving, full of life and playful just like his popular onscreen character of Indravadan Sarabhai” – that’s how the team of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai remembers Satish Shah, who played the witty patriarch of the South Mumbai family in the show that premiered in 2004.

Sumeet Raghvan said, “It is such a rude shock. He was in and out of hospital, he had kidney issues. He was a fabulous human being and an actor. We all have seen his great body of work. I’ve known him for the last 20 years, he was the real-life Indravadan Sarabhai, a prankster. I would be his partner in crime. Whenever we would chat, he would tell me, ‘Don’t let the child in you die or grow, keep the child alive’. He made sure the child in him was always alive.”

Rajesh Kumar, who portrayed the fan-favourite Rosesh, Indravadan’s younger son, said, “This is the worst hour for me. I still cannot process that Satish ji is no more. All I can say is that I feel I have lost my father. He was a man full of life and humour. He made his name and left a mark as an actor. This is a big, big loss to the industry and us, Sarabhai family.” ​

Shah’s co-star from Nehle Pe Dehla, Rajesh Puri, who shared a long friendship with Shah and also worked with him in multiple projects, said, “We worked together even before I did Hum Log , collaborating on several TV shows and films. I wonder what happened to him. Earlier, we used to meet a lot when we worked together. It is very unbearable at the moment.”

The veteran actor fondly recalled working with Shah on the show Nehle Pe Dehla (1999–2000), remembering how the late actor would often tease him, and make everyone laugh. “I will really miss him. It was just last week that I was thinking about catching up with him,” he added.

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The last rites of late actor Satish Shah were conducted in Mumbai on Sunday, a day after he died of renal failure at 74. Earlier, his mortal remains were kept at his residence in Bandra for antim darshan.

Several industry A-listers, friends, and colleagues got together to bid a final farewell to Shah, including Kunal Kohli, Jackie Shroff, Johnny Lever, Aanjjan Srivastav, Poonam Dhillon, Ali Asgar, Tiku Talsania, and Suresh Oberoi.

The cast and crew of his iconic sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai were also present, including Ratna Pathak Shah, Rajesh Kumar, Rupali Ganguly, Sumeet Raghvan, Deven Bhojani, and JD Majethia were also present. Clips of them singing the show’s theme song at the cremation also surfaced on social media.

Kareena Kapoor Khan shared a still of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, writing, “Rest in glory Satish Shah.”

R Madhavan shared an old photo featuring himself, Satish and Mandira Bedi from their get-together. The three had worked together in the sitcom Ghar Jamai.

Amitabh Bachchan wrote, “Another day another work another quiet... Another one of us passes away... Satish Shah, a young talent, and has left us at a very young age. And these times of the grim... it bodes not well to express in normalcy... but the show must go on... and so it does, as does life.” They starred together in the 2008 film Bhootnath.

Anupam Kher shared an emotional video for Satish after the actor’s “shocking” death. Writing in the caption “Satish mere Shah”, he said in the video, “Kya ho raha hai yeh? Teen-chaar din mein itne acche acche log chale gaye. Kya ho raha hai yeh?”

Sumeet Raghvan wrote, “As the show continues to grow, so does our bond. Whenever we met, we didn’t talk as Sumeet, Rupali or Rajesh. Then, were Sahil, Monisha, Rosesh, Dad, and Mom. That’s how we talk with each other. Today, the head of the Sarabhai family, our most senior member, has left us. Kaafi dinon se woh joojh rahe thhe. Finally, life can be very cruel.”

Farah Khan wrote on Instagram, “Rest in peace dearest, Satish. You were a joy to know and work with. Will miss you sending me memes and jokes every day.”

Johnny Lever said, “Feeling extremely sad to share that we’ve lost a great artist and my dearest friend of over 40 years. It’s hard to believe — I had spoken to him just two days ago.”

Rajesh Kumar reflects, “All I can say is that it feels like I have lost my father.. A man full of life and humour. Challenging everything. His name left his mark as an actor. This is a big, big loss to the industry and the (Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’s family). Let’s pray for his departed soul and keep him in your prayers.”

Rakesh Bedi remembers Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi co-star: “I’ve known him since 1974, when we joined FTII. We’ve been classmates, flatmates, and have been friends for all these years. I never saw him sulking. He would always talk about things with so much passion and joy, especially his work. Even when he was unwell, the doctor would come, and he’d crack jokes with him. This was the beauty of that man.”

Singer Dhvani Bhanushali addressed the viral video from 2022 of filmmaker Farah Khan stopping her mid-performance, which led to widespread trolling over alleged use of auto-tune.

The clip, recorded during a media interaction where Dhvani was singing a few lines of her single Vaaste (2021), showed Farah tapping her on the back and saying, “Please note, none of them used auto-tune.” The moment quickly spread across social media, with users accusing Dhvani of relying on correction.

“The whole thing happened when I was insanely sick and four Dolos down. I don’t know why I even sang that day, and it wasn’t even that bad. Some idiot put autotune on it,” the singer told Hauterrfly, adding that the video was modified to make it worse.

“It was modified in a lot of places. I’m not saying it was the best performance. I was sick, it probably was my low moment. But people have just made it worse. And they’re selling it in my name.”

The 27-year-old also shared that Farah apologized for the incident later. “Farah ma’am came to me and said, ‘Beta, I’m sorry’. I said, ‘Okay ma’am, aap humare saath party karne aayengi raat ko?’ and she said yes. Then this whole fiasco happened, but I never blamed her for it. It wasn’t her fault, nor was it mine. Later, I met her again, she came home, and I asked her if she’d make a video with me, and she kindly did.”

Farah Khan has put an end to rumours of a fallout between her and actor Deepika Padukone. It was reported earlier that the filmmaker had taken a dig at Deepika’s eight-hour workday policy in front of her cook, Dilip. Later, several reports stated that Farah had unfollowed Deepika and her husband, actor Ranveer Singh, on Instagram.

However, in an interview with Pinkvilla, the 60-year-old clarified this, saying, “To begin with, we were not following each other earlier, too! We had made a pact during the shoot for the film Happy New Year (2014) that we wouldn’t communicate on Instagram and would instead directly message or call each other. Also, my eight-hour comment wasn’t a dig. It was to make Dilip say that he will now also work eight hours when he actually works just for two hours!”

Farah also talked about how the trend of turning “anything into a controversy has to stop”: “It can genuinely cause problems between people; thankfully, I pick up the phone and call them before it gets worse! But people need to stop doing this.”

At a recent appearance on filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan’s YouTube channel, J D Majethia made a surprising announcement about Khichdi 3. The excited actor-producer tells us, “We have announced a 2027 release, so the film will be written this year and shot next year.”

He adds, “We have a story idea, but we need time to develop it. The whole original team will return [for the movie] and everyone is excited. They want to start right away.”

Talking about the franchise, based on the TV show, Khichdi, J D asserts that they are not making the film just for money: “People look at franchises like a cash cow, but I never saw Khichdi that way. Our aim is to take it ahead only when we are sure we can do something mad with it.”

While the franchise is popular, Khichdi 2: Mission Paanthukistan (2023) failed to connect with the audience as well as the first part did in 2010.

Ask the actor-producer why he still wants to go ahead with a third part and he says, “Khichdi 2 might not have turned out like the first part, but that doesn’t mean the franchise is flawed. People still enjoyed it, and we made money.”

Elaborating on what might have gone wrong with the film, he says, “We made a mistake with its release date. We got a good Friday and Saturday opening, but then it was cricket World Cup final on Sunday. India was playing, and so, no business happened on that day in the major territories. Also, piracy hampered Khichdi 2 on a big scale.”

JD ends on an optimistic note, saying, “Khichdi has been made twice on TV, then as a web series and two films. It has proven itself five times already. Also, it has a loyal fanbase. The memes have kept the franchise alive.”

Actor Aditi Rao Hydari received rave reviews for her performance in Heeramandi (2024). In fact, her gaja gamini walk went viral on social media. However, the actor says that all the limelight did not translate to exciting acting offers.

“After Heeramandi, the way everybody went on and on and how it was loved, I thought I would have a bauchaar of interesting stuff, [but that never happened]... I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ It was really like a drought,” she told filmmaker Farah Khan Kunder on her YouTube show.

A surprised Farah asked: “Really? Tabhi tune shaadi kar li?” Aditi, who got married to actor Siddharth in an intimate ceremony in September last year, giggled and said, “Actually! We had to space it out so that we could get back from work, get married and then get back to work.”

Choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan has not donned the director’s hat since the release of the Happy New Year in 2014. And she doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to plan her next project.

“I directed four films – Main Hoon Na (2004), Om Shanti Om (2007), Tees Maar Khan (2010) and Happy New Year (2014). Of these, except Tees Maar Khan, all did very well. I am proud of the fact that I got to direct the top stars of our country after working with them as a choreographer for years,” she says. Farah, who is gearing up to host the TV show Celebrity MasterChef, talks to us about choreographing for stars across generations, her Bollywood friendships and some disasters in the kitchen. Excerpts:

Farah, who had choreographed for actors like Aamir and Sridevi, says that now she is excited to be working with their children, Junaid and Khushi. She says, “Life has come full circle. I started my career with the song Pehla Nasha (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar) with Aamir Khan. I remember him grilling me on the sets, and cut to now, I choreographed Junaid Khan for an upcoming film. Years ago, when I choreographed Sridevi, she was a big star and now it is a surreal experience to direct Khushi. I was a newbie when I worked with their parents and a veteran when I am directing the kids.”

Ask her whether she plans to direct anytime soon, and she says, “After Happy New Year, I took a break because there was nothing exciting coming my way. So, I got busy doing other things, which included looking after my kids, going on holidays with them and enjoying life. I want to direct a film again, but it will happen when I have the right script and when it is destined.”

Farah says that she is lucky to have found long-lasting friendships in B-Town, and there have also been some bonds that go back to a time before her friends became stars. She shares, “I became friends with Shah Rukh Khan even before Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Deewana released. We share the same level of friendship even now. If it was hard working with him then, it is harder now. Every time we work on a song, the pressure doubles because we have created such iconic songs together.”

The filmmaker, who is all set for her cooking reality show, reveals that she has had her share of bad days in the kitchen.

Farah recounts, “We were shooting for Dil Chahta Hai in Australia, and I was cooking yakhni pulao in those small pots on the induction cooker, and my then-boyfriend called. I got busy talking to him, and the next thing I heard was fire alarms all over the building. The entire evening was spent with people making faces as everything smelt of burnt yakhni pulao on the premises. It was so embarrassing.”

He was shooting for Housefull 4 in 2018 when sexual harassment allegations by multiple women upturned his life. The storm of accusations — including claims of unwanted advances and harassment — upended his career, with work vanishing overnight. Sajid Khan, 54, became an accused in the #MeToo movement in Bollywood — called out, ridiculed and vilified. For six years, he chose silence. Until now. With trepidation in his voice, he recounts the toll the past years have taken on him, both mentally and physically.

I thought of ending my life many times in the last 6 years. It’s been extremely bad, in the sense that I’ve been out of work. Despite getting a clearance from Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA). I’m trying to get back on my feet. I had to sell my house and move to a rented flat because of no earnings. I was 14 when I started earning because my dad (actor, producer, and director, Kamran Khan) passed away, leaving me and (my sister) Farah (Khan Kunder, filmmaker and choreographer) with debts. Today, I wish my mum was alive (Menaka Irani died in 2024) to see me try to get back on my feet. More than her son, I was her caretaker. Life has been quite tough.

Looking back, yes. Now everybody does it on YouTube, but early on in my career, I used to say sensational things just to make headlines. When I worked on TV, my job was to entertain people. I used to rub many the wrong way...When I see some of my interviews today, I feel like taking a time machine back and stopping that guy — saying, ‘Idiot, what are you talking about? Why are you so brash?’ Words don’t matter; work does. Because I was so brash, I rubbed people the wrong way. I would apologize whenever I realized it, but when work stops, you start questioning your life. I’ve mellowed down. I just want to work to survive now.

I left Housefull 4 because I didn’t want the dates to get shuffled. The producer, Sajid Nadiadwala, had put up a big set with 10–15 busy actors. Changing dates would’ve disrupted the film for years. Mine was a trial by media, very one-sided. What does a man work for? Respect. When that’s taken away, your self-respect comes into doubt. I was known for my offensive humour — I believed offence was the best defence. But I’ve learned the hard way. I never disrespected women, and I never will. My mother raised me to believe in gender equality. I didn’t realize my words would make me pay such a huge price.

Ten days before it happened, I was shooting in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and my mum wasn’t well. When I had to leave the film, I was worried she’d have a heart attack if she found out. I told Farah (sister) to hide the newspapers from her. For 10 days, I pretended everything was fine, leaving the house and coming back as if I’d been on set... I’ve never, and will never, say anything against any woman. But yes, the last six years have been a period of self-assessment. Everyone else named in the movement went back to work, but I didn’t. That felt harsh. It made me realize I needed to change not just my life but also the way I spoke to people. I’m much more restrained now.

Meetings went well, but post-Covid, entertainment has changed drastically. Ultimately, it’s about how you present yourself and the strength of your script. Whenever I would approach studios, I was told that even if the script is good, your name is involved in MeToo and we are hesitating to sign you. I have not understood why after so many years when everyone else has moved on, I am not being given that chance. I have a film starting mid-year now, but there’s no guarantee of success. That’s the nature of the industry.

I didn’t want to speak. My mother told me, ‘Silence is golden’. Perception is like mist — it has to be cleared.

What does a feel-good film about young love need? A special dance number. That’s exactly what director Advait Chandan has envisioned for his yet-untitled next, starring Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor. mid-day has learnt that Farah Khan has been roped in to choreograph a special song, which will be filmed in Karjat on December 19.

A source reveals, “It will be a two-day shoot. Advait felt that Farah would be the right person to design the peppy number that fits seamlessly in the breezy romantic comedy. The prep will start early next week before Junaid and Khushi face the camera next Thursday.” Working with Junaid will be a special experience for Farah, considering she had kicked off her career as a choreographer with Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’s (1992) Pehla Nasha that featured his superstar-father Aamir Khan.

The upcoming film, set to release in February 2025, marks the second outing of Khushi as well as Junaid after their respective debuts in The Archies (2023) and Maharaj. It is said to be an adaptation of the Tamil hit, Love Today (2022), which revolved around a young couple who are compelled to swap their phones for a day to test their love.

In 1992, when Subhash Ghai was shooting for Khalnayak in Bangalore, his driver was playing the music of Roja. The songs struck a chord with Ghai, and he asked the driver, “Who is the music director of this film?” It was A R Rahman. And from that moment on, Taal’s journey was set in motion, leading to its release seven years later. 25 years on, we take a look at what keeps the film’s enduring appeal alive.

Percussionist Sivamani recalled in an interview, “We were talking about how the title song was going to start in the mixer room. I said, ‘A R, why don’t we start with a snap of the fingers?’ So A R recorded that, and then, one by one, we added vessels and water.”

Talking about the film’s music, Subhash Ghai had said in 1999, “This is not the kind of music you heard in the ’70s and ’80s. Rahman said he didn’t want to adopt traditional (styles). As a director, it is my work to develop the music of Hindi cinema and Indian cinema.”

Looking back on 25 years of the film, Rahman says that even now, people think Taal is one of his best works. He told us, “Taal is one of the most important tracks from north India that I have composed. Working on music for an icon like Mr Ghai, who had been at the peak of his career for almost two decades, with his guidance and vision, has helped my music travel to the north and the world over. My favourite memories of Taal involve discovering my music and seeing how it transformed with the different people I worked with.”

At the press conference for the launch of Taal’s music, Subhash Ghai had said, “I credit the name of the movie to composer A R Rahman. This film is a romance, and I could have called it anything Dil, Pyaar, Hum Bhaag Gaye - but it was Rahman’s presence in the movie that gave me the confidence to call it Taal. Taal means music, and music means Taal. The whole credit goes to A R Rahman and Anand Bakshi. Rahman kept me awake many nights, but after listening to the songs, I felt it was worth all the trouble.”

“Ramta Jogi is one of my favourite songs from the film, but what makes it truly special is the incredible story behind it. Farah Khan was originally supposed to choreograph the song, but she opted out at the last minute! Saroj Khan, the legendary choreographer, stepped in just a night before the shoot at Filmistan. And I, being the enthusiastic actor I am, did the song with no rehearsals at all! Working alongside the phenomenal dancer, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was a thrill in itself,” wrote Anil Kapoor in a post marking 25 years of Taal.

- Taal became the first Indian film to reach the Top 20 on Variety’s box-office list

- The song Ishq Bina Kya Jeena Yaaron was originally recorded for a film called Shikhar that Subhash Ghai was making. He had approached Rahman for Shikhar

- The film’s singers, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Alka Yagnik, mentioned in multiple interviews that they sang the same lines in different variations for Rahman. And he used what he felt suited for the situation

- Like all his films, Subhash Ghai also made a cameo in Taal

It comes as no surprise that Farah Khan does her own social media—shooting, editing, setting it to music and staying away from trends. They are mini creativity shots, the most fun you can have with Khan without being in her inner circle that comprises a gamut of constellations: There’s, of course, Karan Johar, SRK, Anil Kapoor, etc; Her work crew at Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Malaika Arora, Arshad Warsi; production department HODs, hovering over tubs of aforementioned pulao or chicken, eating together on Mondays; The younger lot, like Ananya Pandey, whom she has seen grow up and been fast friends with their parents; The “alternate universe” that Johar calls her coterie of Patralekhaa, Rajkummar Rao and Huma Qureshi; and then the bunch that has been playing Articulate together for 20 years (“We make our own cards now; we ran out of all the provided ones 15 years ago”), which includes Malaika, Arvind and Tanya Dubash, Farhad Taraporewala, Shweta Bachchan, Rahul Bose, Kajal Anand and a bunch of rotating cast (“‘Aye, bring someone with you no’ we tell each other when we get bored …”).The last lot there are no pictures of, except for the one that the winner takes for bragging rights.

So, all her life is not on her Instagram, and certainly not selfies taken in special clothes. “I first consider what is entertaining,” says Khan, in the expanse of her joyously appointed—and inhabited—living room.

“I find it boring taking pictures of myself.  People spend lakhs of rupees [to hire a hair and make-up person, a stylist, a photographer] on one evening, go to a party to just take pictures, and then they have to upload them immediately—after they edit them and apply filters. ‘But when did you have fun?’ I want to ask them.”

We’re talking about her social media game, which is top notch. Take for instance, her banter with bestie Karan. “They should just give us a show; we’re putting it out in the universe,” she interjects. “We don’t practice anything, we just start—he’s truly witty and doesn’t mind being made fun of. That thing I said, ‘First you couldn’t get out of the closet, now you can’t go back in...’ has gone viral.”

She was introduced to Reels by bestie Sania Mirza and her sister. “Now she has stopped making them,” she says with the slight accusation we reserve for best friends who dare live away from us. “We used to first make them on the trending song, move, etc… but I found it boring.”

Now she thinks up her own content, spending no more than an hour a day on social media cumulatively. So much of her resonates—especially the ones on set—with work besties/spouses in every office. The threat to return her dabbas, banter with colleagues and a lot she gets away with by way of being close to so many generations and types of actors and filmmakers through her decades as a choreographer and director (Main Hoon Na just completed 20 years).

“I only make reels with people I can banter with,” she says, “who have the same sense of humour. And I always ask before posting. If I get a social media team, then it will stop being fun. I want to do it when I feel like; I don’t want to have to post once a day to feed the beast. Now I get requests to do reels together.”

Her food content has her in talks for a YouTube show. “I said 12 episodes of me in the kitchen, cooking with my cook or a friend; I know my cook will become a star after that, and leave me to go work for Shah Rukh. Or me with Mr Faizu [content creator Faisal Shaikh] going through Bhendi Bazaar on Eid.”

One of the reasons she would not have a social media team is because her phone is her sixth organ, attached to her body. “Firstly, I won’t be able to call my children or my driver or anyone. I only remember Shirish’s [husband, filmmaker Kunder] number. Secondly, if my chats get leaked, I will have to go into exile. My daughter has the habit of going through my phone; I tell her I’ll do the same when she has boyfriends. So ya, nobody is going to handle my phone.”

And yet people have taken it saying, “You are not following me?”, and hit the Follow button for her. “Then I mute them; you can’t unfollow them. Half the people I follow, I have muted.”

A cursory glance at her handle shows 4.1 million followers and that she’s following 96. And more than peers, she likes accounts that inform her how things work, like the Hoover Dam. And she reads every comment, and likes them personally too, stopping just to block the mean ones.

“If they are funny, I don’t mind. The most common ones are ‘Sajid in a wig’, which I don’t find funny anymore because I am much thinner than him.”

For the same reason, she finds spoofs of her, like those by comedienne Jamie Lever, funny. “I love Jamie! I’ve told her she needs to pay royalties because now she’s doing spoofs of my Reels.”  

And she’s candid enough to admit that fame online opens up new venues of revenue. This is not surprising from a person who admits that great trauma has given the entire family a dark sense of humour.

“My entire family is so dysfunctional and it works for us; we’ve seen such hard times—my mother and all my aunts were child artistes; they were gravely exploited. My father, no matter if he was an alcoholic and down in the dumps, his sense of humour was intact: Sarcastic and cutting, which is where I get it from. My mother has a no-filter sense of humour. As a family, we have hid behind pews and laughed at funerals—like my grandmother’s, who converted to become a Born Again Christian and was buried. That’s what I tell my children—Sorry, I have not given you any dysfunction; I don’t know how you will have any fun…”