Farah Khan wanted Akashdeep out!
The choreographer-turned-director felt people might question her judgment on her former flame in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa
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| woh bhooli dastaan: Farah Khan and Akashdeep Saigal pics/Sujit Jaiswal and VIJAYANAND GUPTA |
Shaheen Parkar
shaheen@mid-day.com
Farah Khan and Akashdeep Saigal (Ansh of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi) will once again come face-to-face in the Sony dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Farah is one of the judges, along with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Shilpa Shetty, while Akashdeep is among the eight contestants of the desi version of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, more popularly known as Dancing With The Stars in America.
Uneasy?
To jog your memory, Farah and Akashdeep were quite the couple around town a few years ago. We still recall that at awards functions, she rattled off many names in her 'thank you' list, among which was also a "thank you, Akash."
The couple later split and went their separate ways. Today, Farah is happily married to editor-turned-director Shirish Kunder, who makes his big screen directorial debut with Sajid Nadiadwala's Jaan-E-Mann. Akashdeep has also been spotted in the company of Nicole, a UK-based singer trying to make it big in India.
It is reliably learnt that Farah was irked when she realised that Akashdeep was one of the contestants on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Apparently, she told Sony not to have Akashdeep on board otherwise she would not participate in the show. She had initially agreed to do the show due to her old association with Sony (she is also a judge on Indian Idol). Farah then left for the US to choreograph Shakira's dance number at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York.
Wanted to back out
Back in Mumbai over the weekend, Farah was rattled when she learnt about Akashdeep's presence in the contest. On Monday, she was actually in two minds about continuing on the show. It is learnt that she called up the channel on Monday, questioning them about why they had gone ahead with Akashdeep's inclusion. But by then, it was too late for her to back out as the channel had already splashed the names of the contestants and judges. Her displeasure also rattled the channel but it was too late to take any action.
When asked about the developments, Farah said she was not in a position to make any comments as she is under contract with Sony.
No bitterness
But a channel source says, "Initially, Farah was reluctant to be the judge as she thought people might question her judgment of Akashdeep. But her husband Shirish convinced her to go ahead. Both Akashdeep and Farah are professionals and have moved on in life. When they parted, it was on amicable terms and there was no bitterness. So it seemed pointless for either of them to opt out."
On Tuesday, all the judges and participants had a technical rehearsal as well as photo shoots. Adds an onlooker from the sets, "Both Farah and Akashdeep greeted each other warmly. There was no awkwardness between them. All the three judges, Shilpa, Farah and Sanjay wished all the contestants and even ribbed Mahesh Manjrekar saying that he was representing Bollywood so he had better dance well."
So it was a case of all's well that end's well, with Akashdeep all set to showcase his jhatkas to Farah.
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