Farah Khan recalls being “devastated” after the failure of the film Teez Maar Khan starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif (Image credit: Instagram)
Farah Khan is no stranger to introducing famous artists. From Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om to Happy New Year, the director has enjoyed a successful directorial career. But Tees Maar Khan remains the only film to break her winning streak when it was released in 2010.
Although the film was panned by critics and performed poorly at the box office, it has since gained a loyal following.Speaking candidly on Shekhar Suman’s chat show, Farah spoke about how the film’s failure affected her personally and professionally.
“All I was doing was clicking.”
Recalling that phase of her career, Farah said: “Before Tees Maar Khan, I never had a period of depression. All I used to do was click. Tees Maar Khan was the only time I said ‘I failed.’
Now, of course, it’s become a cult film.”The director admitted that the criticism hit her hard and it took her time to recover from it.“It was very painful, and yes, at that point I was devastated. I didn’t get out of bed until a week later,” she said.
“The trolling I experienced was on another level.”
Farah also spoke about dealing with online criticism at a time when social media was still in its infancy.“Fortunately, there was no social media back then. There was only Twitter, and the trolling I encountered there was on another level. I felt bad because it all comes back to you in the end. There’s always a well-meaning friend who comes up and tells you, ‘This person said this,’ or ‘This person said that.’ I kept thinking: I’ve worked with all these people. Why is this person ripping up my film?”
She explained that despite the absence of multiple social media platforms, the criticism surrounding the film spread quickly and affected her greatly, especially since much of it came from people she knows within the industry.Although Tees Maar Khan was considered a disappointment upon its release, the film has undergone significant re-evaluation over the years. Today, he enjoys a cult status among a section of viewers, with many revisiting his comedic moments, songs and dialogues long after his theatrical run.
