IGT’: Farah recounts train travel with SRK for ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ shoot

MUMBAI: Director-choreographer Farah Khan, who is known for ‘Main Hoon Na’, ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Happy New Year’ and others, is set to grace the upcoming episode of the talent reality show 'India's Got Talent' season 10. In the course of the episode, Farah reminisced about travelling with the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in a train for the shoot of the song ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’.

Farah, who is a close friend of SRK, choreographed ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’, and has directed him in ‘Main Hoon Na’, ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘Happy New Year’.

The upcoming episode pays tribute to the incredible legacy of the Indian Railways as Farah Khan joins the judges' panel, alongside Badshah and Kirron Kher, as a guest judge. The Top 13 contestants will honour the contribution of the Indian Railways.

Amidst the performances, guest Farah Khan and judges Badshah and Kirron Kher take a nostalgic trip down memory lane as they fondly reminisce about their own rail adventures.

Farah Khan shared: “I have travelled my entire youth in trains. It used to be quite crowded, and I used to travel second class due to our limited financial resources. You learn self-defence while travelling in Mumbai locals (laughs). When we were travelling for the shoot of 'Chaiyya Chaiyya,' we took Shah Rukh Khan on a train overnight, along with Manisha and Mani Ratnam sir”.

She further mentioned: “We covered ourselves completely with scarves so that people wouldn't recognise us. But by the time we reached there, it seemed like everyone already knew that Shah Rukh Khan was on the train. On every platform, there were thousands of people waiting to see him, and it was very scary.”

Kirron Kher fondly shares her own experiences: “I had beautiful experiences too. My father was in the army, so when he was posted in different places, we would travel by train. The first-class carriages had spacious berths. The beds were quite large and comfortable. We used to peek out of the window, and my mother would say, ‘Don't put your head outside; something might fly into your eye’. These trains weren't diesel engines; they were steam engines. We had such beautiful memories.”

Badshah reveals how he got introduced to A. R. Rahman courtesy the Indian Railways. He said: “My dad and I were on an LTC (Leave Travel Concession) tour of South India, and we were travelling with another couple who were newly married. I was quite young at the time, and it was the first time I saw a Walkman. They put the Walkman on my ears, and there was a cassette playing, perhaps Tamil music.

The movie's name was 'Kadhalan.' That was the first time I was introduced to A.R. Rahman. I heard the song ‘Ooravasi Ooravasi’ then and fell in love with Rahman Sir from that moment on.”

‘India’s Got Talent’ airs Saturday and Sunday on Sony Entertainment Television.