Choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan has spoken about her decision to launch Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om. Farah said she could afford to cast a new face as the female lead because she already had Shah Rukh Khan playing the male lead in the film.
Farah was in conversation with casting director Mukesh Chhabra on Mashable India’s 'The Bombay Dream.'
“To launch a hero is on another level because who will give you the money? I launched her because Shah Rukh Khan was there. So, I could take that risk.”Farah Khan
Farah also gave some advice to those aspiring to become an actor in Bollywood. “Your mindset has to be very strong in the sense that you have to face rejection every day. So you need to have really thick skin and your belief in yourself has to be next level,” the filmmaker told the publication.
Farah further said that one needs to be self-aware and study their competition. “It’s important to be self-aware. When you go out, you need to see who your competition is. Then you will be able to understand that there are better people here or ‘I can do better than them’. When I was an assistant in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Saroj ji had come for ‘Pehla Nasha’. I used to give clap, watching her work. I was self-aware that I could do it and this song I can do better because I won’t do it in a filmy way. I will do it in a new way.”
“You can get a break any time, but are you prepared for that break or not? I feel everyone says you wait for the right role. I feel those days are gone. You have to keep acting. You take whatever you get, be it small or big. No one is going to give you a launch unless you are a big star’s son. Sorry to say, but that is the truth,” Farah said.
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