Despite coming from a film background as his father Feroz Khan was an acclaimed actor and director from the ’70s and ’80s, Fardeen Khan has some hits and misses in his career. Known for having worked in several films in the first part of his career after his launch, such as ‘Jungle’ (2000), ‘Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya’ (2001), ‘Om Jai Jagadish’ (2002), the handsome Khan needed a big solo hit.
When he got roped in to work in Boney Kapoor’s ‘Khushi’ (2003), it was like the universe was giving him another chance! Paired opposite Kareena Kapoor, back then, the film made a lot of headlines for the star cast as it was the first film for the duo, together.
It was a remake of the 2000 Tamil film ‘Kushi’, starring Jyothika and Vijay. The film was directed by S. J. Suryah and produced by Boney Kapoor.
‘Khushi’ has no special storyline. It’s the typical Bollywood romance. The story is about Khushi and Karan sharing a love-hate relationship. Whilst setting their friends up in a relationship, they themselves end up falling in love with each other.
After filming ‘Khushi’, Fardeen Khan was seen very excited about the film during the promotions. While talking about it, Fardeen told Subhash K Jha to Rediff in 2003, that ‘Khushi’ is not related to comedy. It is more like a serious story with strong characters, “It is not about comedy. Bebo and I may look funny to the audience. But our characters are dead serious about our differences.”
While talking about his first work with Kareena, Khan shared that they developed great trust and chemistry between them. Before working together, they just used to acknowledge each other from far away, but after the film, they became quite close and made memorable experiences. “Besides Khushi and Dev, we are doing another film for Boney Kapoor. Suryah will direct the Hindi version of his Bali. I play a double role for the first time”, that’s what the ‘Fida’ actor shared.
Before the release of ‘Khushi’, Fardeen Khan was very confident with this work. He was confident enough that it will make a turning point in his career.
The film received mixed reviews from critics and did not achieve a hit status at the box office. Some praised the performances of the cast, while others criticized the story and the direction. The performances of the cast are generally considered to be good and the film’s music by Anu Malik is also popular. Fardeen Khan badly needed this hit but it did not happen. Over the years, the film got popular as the romance of this era is missing nowadays.
Fardeen Khan is set to star in Akshay Kumar and Mudassar Aziz’s upcoming comedy-drama film, ‘Khel Khel Mein’, along with Taapsee Pannu and Vaani Kapoor. He will also feature alongside Riteish Deshmukh, Priya Bapat and Krystal D’Souza in Sanjay Gupta production, ‘Visfot’.
