Gauahar Khan has been living out of the suitcase with back-to-back professional projects and vacations abroad. She speaks to The Telegraph before the world TV premiere of her film 14 Phere on Sunday at noon on & Pictures.
Are you back in Mumbai yet?
Yeah. I returned yesterday from the UAE. It was fab. I really needed a break. I was there for 12 days, in Turkey and UAE. Turkey was fantastic. The hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia was special.
You were also in Bengal some months back.
Yes, I travel a lot. I went to Siliguri and Darjeeling. We were in a tea estate. The weather was beautiful. I am a tea person. I take black tea. The way so much effort goes into the making of tea with so many steps involved makes me look at tea with new respect.
Your film 14 Phere will be having its world TV premiere on October 24. Although it is already out on Zee5, many have not seen it yet. Tell us about the film.
It’s a film on all kinds of planning that go wrong in the efforts to get two people in love together. It also brings to light in a humorous way a lot of societal issues around marriages and expectations. It is an enjoyable film with great performances and music.
What about your role in the film?
Not many actors get to play three characters in a film in their career. One is my own age, in the early 30s, and there are two older characters who try to play parents of the two people in love and try to convince their respective families to allow them to get married. I had to learn to speak in two accents, Rajasthani Jat and Bihari. The tough part was trying to make sure that both sound authentic. I had two diction teachers and I tried to do my best. It has got the most appreciation of all the roles I have done. So I am excited about more people watching the film. The graph has been going up from the critical acclaim I got for Begum Jaan, Ishaqzaade and Rocket Singh. I am very happy about that especially since this was my first attempt at comedy.
Gauahar Khan in a scene from 14 Phere, which premieres on & Pictures on Sunday Telegraph Picture
Coming to your nikaah, you are now composer Ismail (Devdas) Durbar’s bahu. How musical are you as a person?
I love all kinds of music and I think I am my father-in-law’s biggest fan. What he has done I don’t think many can achieve. I love Bollywood, Sufi and Pakistani music. I don’t like rock, funk and such hard-hitting songs though there must be a great audience for that.
How much did the dress that you wore during the wedding weigh?
All my wedding outfits were extremely heavy and all were made with a lot of love. There was Manish Malhotra for my reception, Shakira and Saira from Pakistan for my nikaah, Mayyur Girotra for my mehndi, Rajdeep Ranawat for my haldi… I am always going to be so grateful. My wedding outfit became the talk of town for every girl who wanted to get married.
Was Zaid much of a camera person or are you training him to be in the public eye?
He is a choreographer. He is not camera shy at all. In fact, he is getting a lot of acting offers, so you will hopefully see him in front of the camera soon somewhere.
Who plans your Instagram reels?
Social media is Zaid’s thing. He is way more active than I am. He keeps pushing me to do more things. I have become more active thanks to his direction.
What comes next?
Lots. I am leaving for a shoot right now for a new project. There is a very big show coming up on a big platform in January or February. I have already completed a film. But I can’t talk about any of that yet.
