Farah Khan says she avoided working with Akshaye Khanna after tough sets in the 90s

Farah Khan and Akshaye Khanna

Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan recently opened up about a difficult phase in her professional relationship with actor Akshaye Khanna, revealing that there was a time when she deliberately avoided working with him. The director shared the candid recollection while speaking on podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia's show, where she reflected on her early experiences in the film industry during the 1990s.

Farah Khan recalls working with Akshaye Khanna

Farah recalled that she had worked with Akshaye on a couple of films during that period, but the experience left her quite shaken. According to her, the actor behaved very differently on set back then, which made the working environment uncomfortable for those around him. The choreographer admitted that after those projects, she made a conscious decision to stay away from films that featured him.

"In the '90s, I did a couple of movies with Akshaye, and after that I was traumatised," Farah said during the conversation. "Because he used to be a different person. Yes, introverted, but not a nice person on set."

She explained that whenever she learned that Akshaye Khanna was part of a film's cast, she would often try to avoid the project altogether. "Whenever I heard that Akshaye Khanna was in a film, I used to say, ‘I don't have the dates'," she recalled, describing how she politely declined such offers.

Farah also shared that the actor often seemed irritated during that time. She suggested that Akshaye may have been going through personal insecurities, particularly related to hair loss, which he had reportedly spoken about publicly. According to her, that period appeared to affect his temperament on set.

On their reunion in Tees Maar Khan

"I think at that time he himself had said that he was losing his hair. He was constantly irritable. He used to throw things and say, ‘What kind of dialogue is this?' He used to be that kind of person," she said.

Despite those early experiences, Farah added that her perception of Akshaye changed over the years. The two eventually worked together again on the 2010 film Tees Maar Khan. Over time, she also came to appreciate his talent as an actor.

Her comments reflect how professional relationships in the film industry can evolve, with earlier misunderstandings sometimes giving way to renewed respect and collaboration.