Farah Khan Calls Tees Maar Khan’s Failure ‘Darkest Phase’ Of Her Career; Reveals, “I Was In Bed For 5-6 Days Just Crying”

Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan recently opened up about one of the most difficult phases of her career following the criticism surrounding Tees Maar Khan. The film, which starred Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, released in 2010 and generated significant buzz at the box office. However, despite earning around Rs 84 crore domestically, the film received heavy criticism and failed to match the success of Farah’s earlier directorial ventures like Om Shanti Om.

Farah Khan Calls Tees Maar Khan’s Failure ‘Darkest Phase’ Of Her Career

Reflecting on that period, Farah Khan explained in The Ranveer Show how the backlash affected her confidence and mindset. She said, “It puts you on the back foot for very long. See, you get over it, you bounce, you go to work, but in your mind, you are always on the back foot. Self-doubt log daalte hain. Aapka nahi hota hai, but log daalte hain.”

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She further spoke about how success can sometimes create unrealistic expectations from others in the industry. According to her, when a film works well, people often assume the filmmaker always knows what they are doing. She said, “Jaise exactly jab aapki picture hit ho jaati hai, then people think that aap kuch bhi kar lo. Wahan par also you have to question, you know ke ye correct ja raha hai ki nahi. Wahan they feel ke you know everything so they will blindly do whatever you want them to do.”

However, the criticism following Tees Maar Khan proved emotionally overwhelming for the filmmaker. She admitted, “Toh woh hua but ya, it was quite… career-wise it was not a good phase for me. Main toh… I was in bed for I think 5-6 days just crying.”

She added, “Tabhi sirf Twitter tha thankfully. Twitter, and of course, you would hear there are well-meaning friends who come and tell you yeh aisa bol raha tha, yeh aisa bol raha tha. Which makes you even more angry first, then sad and then a little bit of a panic attack because first time, you are helpless.”

Farah Khan Says People Were Happy For Her Failure

Farah also reflected on the public reaction and why some people appeared to take pleasure in the film’s criticism. She said, “I think they were bahut aise khushi ho rahi thi kyunki back to back maine do badi hits di thi. Especially after Om Shanti Om. Then I also got married. I also had triplets. It was like arre personal life bhi achhi ja rahi hai, professional bhi achhi ja rahi hai, too good to be true. Matlab, I had not got criticised for anything. Ya maine failure dekha hi nahi tha ever.”

Looking back, Farah Khan acknowledged that the experience, though painful, offered an important lesson about handling failure in an industry driven by constant scrutiny. The filmmaker has since continued to remain active in Bollywood as a choreographer, host and director, often reflecting candidly on the ups and downs of her journey in the film industry.

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Varsha Tiwari

Varsha Tiwari is a budding content writer passionate about Bollywood, pop culture, and the stories behind the spotlight. She enjoys breaking down trends, celebrity moments, and film narratives into engaging, reader-friendly content. Always curious and observant, she is currently pursuing a Master’s in Communication and Journalism. Outside of writing, she enjoys painting because storytelling doesn’t always need words to make an impact.