Dance runs in the family: Kabir Khan

Time of India

10-07-2025

Behind the camera and on the dance floor — Kabir Khan and daughter Sairah talk rhythm, roots and aspirations
Few know that
Kabir Khan
, director of films like Kabul Express, Ek Tha Tiger,
Bajrangi Bhaijaan
and Chandu Champion, is also a skilled dancer. He has now found a dance partner in his daughter Sairah, who has been training in several dance forms since the age of three. We spoke to the filmmaker about the dancer in him,
while Sairah shared her career plans.
I dabbled in dancing a lot in DU: Kabir Khan
Talking about his love for dancing, Kabir shares, 'I dabbled in dance a lot when I was in college, we had a good choreography team at Delhi University, where I graduated from. It's safe to say we were good because we won awards at the university and in Lady Shri Ram College where my wife Mini (Mathur) studied. I spent six months on the production of the musical West Side Story with choreographer Ashley Lobo. It also featured Parvin Dabas,
Gauri Khan
and others, so that was a phase when I was dancing a lot.
Mini showed her dancing chops on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, and now Sairah dances better than both of us put together. So yes, dance does run in the family.'
'I'd put up performances for my parents as a kid'
Talking about how she fell in love with dancing, Sairah says, 'My parents enrolled me in a ballet class when I was three years old, and I started enjoying it. I was very dramatic as a child and would put on performances for them. I was dancing to Sheila Ki Jawani when I was two. I trained with Ashley Lobo, did professional certificate courses in different styles, and now I dance simply because I enjoy it.'
To this, Kabir adds, 'We enrolled her in the class because she had already started dancing.
She would dance to Katrina's (Kaif) songs, which we would record and send to her.'
'Documentary filmmakers are considered serious people, but they are the most interesting people I have met in my life'
Reminiscing about his journey from dancer to documentary filmmaker to finally directing large-scale commercial movies, Kabir shares, 'Dancing is about team building, and was something I really enjoyed.
I'm still in touch with many people from the West Side Story production. Gauri and I became friends during that project. Documentary filmmaking is what I studied – I did my master's in filmmaking. At some point, I felt those films lacked a wide audience, and I felt frustrated.
That's when I wrote Kabul Express, based on my journey with a friend in Afghanistan. I landed a three-film contract with YRF, and the rest is history.'
Does the tag of a documentary filmmaker paint him as a serious person? 'Documentary filmmakers are considered serious people, but they are the most interesting people I've met in my life,' says Kabir, adding, 'They have varied experiences because of their travels. Just last year, I caught up with many documentary filmmakers at a festival in Kathmandu, and the interactions, as always, were quite interesting.'
I love being in front of the camera, but maybe not as an actor: Sairah
Sairah is often asked if she would take up after her parents. But she has other plans. 'I'm hoping to study at New York University first,' she says, and continues, 'Both my parents' movie sets have always been a playground for my brother and me. My brother Vivaan has taken to filmmaking. While I love being in front of the camera with the spotlight on me, maybe not as an actor. But let's see.'
Pics: Prathamesh Bandekar