Farhan Akhtar connects with his cousins for the first time in his ancestral village

Farhan Akhtar walked down the path of nostalgia as he took a trip to Khairabad, the hometown of his great grandfather, and his great grand-uncle. He met his long distance cousins for the first time there. Not many know of this but Farhan is the descendant of a well-known family in Khairabad. His great-grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was a prominent personality of the revolutionary Indian rebellion of 1857. He is fondly remembered for his protest against the British. Apart from being a revolutionary, he was also a poet, philosopher and a religious scholar. He has also been a chief judge in Lucknow.

Farhan Akhtar’s entire family is closely related to literature. Recently, Farhan’s father, renowned lyricist-poet Javed Akhtar had been to Khairabad and while returning from there, had advised Farhan to pay a visit to his ancestral house. As Farhan was pretty much interested in knowing about his ancestral roots, he decided to visit Khairabad. Said Farhan, “I was keen to learn about my roots and pay my respects to my ancestors. My first and second cousins, with their families, live there now.” The actor who was on a promotional tour to Lucknow for his forthcoming movie ‘Lucknow Central’ took a detour to pay a visit to his ancestral house. (Also Watch:‘Lucknow Central’: Farhan Akhtar nails it with his act in this engaging trailer)

His ancestral house is a seven room bungalow with a backyard and garden and is shared by four families. Speaking about the house, Farhan shared, “I’ve heard many stories about this place growing up and now, I’d like to know it better. In cities, everything grows rapidly and progresses fast, but in smaller towns like Khairabad, life is slow-paced. I want to put smiles on the faces of these children. I’d like to do for this place what Shabana and Baba Azmi have done for Azamgarh.” He said this referring to the Mijwan Welfare Society’s work for children and women development.

He also interacted with the locals and children and spent almost five hours there. He then paid respects to his ancestor by going to the grave of his great grandmother Muztar Khairabadi’s mother, Heerma Khairabadi. Sharing his experience, he said, “I’m overwhelmed by the love. I’ll definitely be back soon.”

On the work front, he is busy promoting his soon-to-release movie ‘Lucknow Central’ which is directed by Ranjit Tiwari, produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures. It will be releasing on September 15, 2017.

Prajakta Ajgaonkar

Passionate about writing, and a Bollywood lover, she is all that is sweet and endearing! She desires to put her best foot forward in everything that she does and loves to help anyone who’s in need.