4 min readMumbaiMar 13, 2026 09:58 PM IST
Thanks to Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, Akshaye Khanna has found the spotlight he arguably deserved for a long time. With renewed attention on the actor, many viewers have also started revisiting his hilariously eccentric yet sincere performance in Farah Khan’s madcap comedy Tees Maar Khan. The film was a major box-office failure when it released, but over the years it has gradually gained a cult following and carved out a place in the pop-culture zeitgeist. Farah Khan is frequently tagged on social media reels featuring Akshaye’s scenes from the film. In many of those clips, the filmmaker can be seen praising the actor’s performance. However, Farah recently revealed that their early years as collaborators were far from smooth. In fact, she admitted that she once avoided projects that involved Akshaye.
‘Akshaye Khanna was constantly irritable’
Speaking on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, Farah Khan said: “In the ’90s, I did a couple of movies with Akshaye, and after that I was traumatised. Because he used to be a different person. Yes, introverted, but not a nice person on set. Whenever I heard that Akshaye Khanna was in a film, I used to say, ‘I don’t have the dates.’” She further explained that during that period, the actor was struggling with hair loss, which made him constantly irritable.
“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.” However, Farah said her perception changed when she worked with him on Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai. She couldn’t refuse the project as it marked the directorial debut of her cousin Farhan Akhtar.
‘He changed with Dil Chahta Hai’
“He had completely changed by then. He had reconciled with his hair. In Dil Chahta Hai, he became very chill. Before that, if there was water or rain in a scene, he would always wear a cap, like see every rain song of his, such as in Taal. But after Dil Chahta Hai, something changed. And he is a brilliant dancer, if you watch ‘Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe,’ he is dancing better than Aamir and Saif.”
Farah Khan added that today they share a warm rapport. She even called Akshaye Khanna immediately after watching Dhurandhar to congratulate him. “I called him and then I went to his Alibag house. What I like about him is that he is not about the fluff, he is about the work. He enjoys acting.”
Several actors said no to Akshaye’s role
In the same conversation, Farah also revealed that the role of Aatish Kapoor in Tees Maar Khan, which Akshaye eventually played, had initially been rejected by several actors. “Many people said no to that role. First Sharman Joshi turned it down because he was doing Ferrari Ki Sawaari at the time. And Akshaye Khanna was the last person you would think of for that role because it’s such a zany, cracked comedy, he had to go completely hamming.”
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Meanwhile, Farah Khan recently shared that she is planning to return to direction. However, she emphasised that she would do so only with Shah Rukh Khan. While interacting with Nakuul Mehta on her YouTube channel, Farah addressed the social media hashtag “Farah Wapas Aao (Farah, please come back),” which fans have been using to urge her to return to filmmaking. “I think it’s time. I think by the end of this year I’ll start,” she said. In the same breath, she added, “If I do it, I will do it with Shah Rukh. Otherwise, I will keep doing YouTube.”
