Farah Khan: SRK, Salman and Akshay are the last superstars
Farah Khan says younger actors are insecure and interfere in casting, music and choreography, naming SRK, Salman, Akshay and Amitabh as the last superstars.
Farah Khan has never been one to soften a sentence, and her latest interview is no exception. The filmmaker-choreographer, in conversation with Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi on Double Date, said that today’s younger actors are insecure, low on confidence, and far too quick to take over jobs that are not theirs.
She argued that actors who believe in themselves trust their directors. The ones who do not, she said, start rewriting the film around themselves — from the choreography and music to the casting.
Interference, not ownership
Farah traced the controlling behaviour back to self-doubt. “All of this comes when you are not confident about yourself,” she said. According to her, a secure actor does not need to choreograph a song or approve every co-star; they trust the process and the people hired to run it.
That trust, she suggested, is precisely what separated the Khans from the current crop. She recalled that Shah Rukh Khan did not question her casting choices on Main Hoon Na when she wanted Sushmita Sen, nor on Om Shanti Om when she picked the then-newcomer Deepika Padukone. He simply looked at the photograph and told her, “if you are fine with it, I’m fine.”
What made the last superstars
Farah said Shah Rukh, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan still work with the hunger of their first films — some even harder. She added that Salman does not ask for days off or refuse a Sunday shoot. Her point was simple: superstardom was built on self-belief, discipline and hard work, not on controlling every department.
She was less gentle with the current generation. Many actors, she said, would rather chase magazine covers and award-show appearances than build a filmography. And it irritates her when an actor arrives on set without knowing their lines, then asks for changes. “That is not your job. You do your job,” she said, adding that by a fifth film some actors think they know everything because they are surrounded by people who agree with them.
“The era of superstars is over,” Farah said. The actors we have now, she added, are the last of them — and the audience should enjoy them for as long as they are working.
What to take from the conversation
- Confidence shows up as trust. Secure actors let specialists do their jobs.
- Consistency outlasts hype. The Khans still work like debutants years into their careers.
- Stardom is built on craft, not covers. Farah values filmography over magazine presence.
Farah’s own next step
Farah has said she plans to begin her next directorial project towards the end of 2026, once her children leave for college. The catch? She will make it only if Shah Rukh Khan stars in it.
Source: Hindustan Times
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