Scoff all you want — her slender frame and washboard abs contradict her claims — but Bigg Boss 7 winner Gauahar Khan says she has not stepped into a gym for over three months and doesn’t believe in denying her body the food she craves. The TV star was chatting to tabloid! on Monday at her sister’s villa in The Meadows, ahead of supporting said sister Zakia Jeelani’s Dubai restaurant venture this Thursday.
“We are a family of foodies. We love to cook together and we all love to eat. So it makes me so happy to support my sister as she opens Le Duplex,” said Khan, dressed in an unforgiving cropped top and high-waisted pencil skirt by designer Nitya Bajaj. The restaurant is being sold as a trendy Italian joint in Jumeirah that serves shisha by the side, a rarity that owner Jeelani wanted to milk (“normally shisha is paired with Arabic food.”)
“I don’t smoke shisha but I love the smell of it … and it fills me with pride knowing that my sister is opening an Italian restaurant and taking our collective passion forward,” said Khan with a laugh. While she is partial to risotto in arabiatta sauce (a signature dish to be served at the opening), her ultimate comfort food is the Indian staple, dal (lentil) curry and rice. Even during our interaction, the Khan hospitality was on display as this journalist was bombarded with offers of juice, green tea, coffee and snacks.
“My mum is a great cook and she makes an amazing biryani. But if she asks us what we want for dinner: I just go: dal-chawal [rice]. Even last night, I had that with my family for our celebratory dinner reunion. I can’t describe that feeling but it feels like I have come home when eating a steaming bowl of rice, dal and chicken made by mum,” said Khan.
Her fondest childhood culinary memory was making bite-sized portions of food for her brother in her mother’s kitchen. “My mum used to give me a tiny bit of all the ingredients in the kitchen and my brother was given the honour of trying my dishes out. He was the judge. But his complaint remained that I made such tiny portions.”
Culinary conditioning
That kind of culinary conditioning came handy in her adulthood.
She survived the gruelling format of Bigg Boss, a reality show that shunts a group of celebrity volunteers into isolation by caging them in a house together, by slaving away in the kitchen.
“I was like the official cook of the house ... but in all seriousness, Bigg Boss taught me patience. It taught me the importance of choosing the battles that you need to fight. It taught me that it’s sometimes good to let things slide and not stress about things,” said Khan, who beat contestants such as Tanishaa Mukerji and Ajaz Khan this season.
The reality show, which saw more than 80 cameras watching her every move for 104 days, wasn’t a step down in her eyes.
“Regarding whether it’s orchestrated to scandalise and shock viewers, you need to ask the creative people behind the camera. I’m in front of it,” said Khan.
The 30-year-old actress made her Bollywood debut with the drama Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year in 2009. Although she wasn’t paired opposite the lead hero Ranbir Kapoor in this one, Khan managed to hold her own in a relatively small role as a feisty marketing executive and is remembered as one of the bright spots in an otherwise lacklustre film.
Keen to experiment
“I have always wanted to experiment in life and try out new things. I knew I wasn’t playing the lead in Rocket Singh but I had confidence that my role would be appreciated. Even in Ishaqzaade, I knew I wasn’t the lead but I still took it up because I knew the character would connect with the audience,” said Khan. In her role in the love tragedy Ishaqzaade, Khan played a prostitute who helps star-crossed lovers Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra seek refuge in her brothel.
“I don’t question whether the role has me in the lead or not. It should excite me as an artist.”
In her eyes, reality shows and powerful roles are a great way to forge a bond with the audience.
“Our audiences are always keen to know the real you. I have known people take interest in the smallest details of my life like the brand of hair straightener I use. And truthfully, I enjoy that kind of attention,” said Khan. She has four siblings, out of which three are based in Dubai. Recently, her brother has been swatting calls from eager fans wanting to speak to his famous sister.
“As long as their interests don’t turn dangerous, it feels good to know that people want to reach out to me. I started with a few thousand Twitter followers but by the end of the season, I now have 118,000 fans. If we do that math, you will get the answer if joining Bigg Boss was a step down for me,” said Khan.
Her faith in reality shows is underlined when we take stock of her 2011 reality show The Khan Sisters. Modelled loosely after the vicariously delightful American hit show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, this version involved primarily chronicling the lives of Gauahar and her sister Nigaar Khan, also an actress.
“We just wanted people to see the real us … I was a successful model and I was eager to try out new things and push boundaries.”
Progressive family
But did her experiments cause a rift among her conservative family members? Reports claim that she had a fall-out with her sisters, including Zakia. But Khan refutes them by branding her family as progressive and not conservative, as widely believed.
“We are a close-knit family and we support each other no matter what. Like today, I am happy to know that my sister is starting an exciting chapter in her life and I am here to support her. And it’s my first holiday in three years,” said Khan, who was busy filming Khatron Ke Khiladi in Cape Town, South Africa, before this UAE getaway. The show sees her tackle her deep-seated fears such as hydrophobia.
“Had it not been for Khatron Ke Khiladi, I would never have faced those fears like I did… That was one of the reasons why I did that show. It’s going to be a good year for me because Fever, my first film as a lead heroine, will be up for release soon.” Though she couldn’t reveal the details of the suspense thriller that’s being filmed in Switzerland, Khan was willing to let us in on a secret.
“I can’t speak about that film but I can tell you that I love watching those food shows, especially the ones featuring Nigella Lawson and Fabulous Cakes on TLC between shots. It’s such a great stress-buster for me.”
