Unfiltered & unfettered
While everyone in TheFabulousLivesof BollywoodWives have garnered their fair share of criticism and praise, fashion designer Seema Khan stands out for being the most authentic and unfiltered personality in the series
Seema Khan is overwhelmed by the response she’s been getting for the show. “I got so many women reaching out to me; I was not expecting this. They’ve called me strong and brave. The younger girls want to hang with me. It’s beautiful to see so much love because normally, as celebs, we are bashed and trolled. I feel blessed,” she reveals in a telephonic chat from Mumbai.
There is a dignified side to Seema’s persona besides the free-spirited and uninhibited soul that she shows of herself in the series. When she talks about living separately from her husband, Bollywood actor and director, Sohail Khan, there is no drama involved. She simply states that they have changed as people and while they still love each other, this situation works best for them. In fact, Sohail Khan even makes a couple of appearances on the show and there is clearly no visible friction between the two.
“The full credit goes to my mum. She has always told me that lies never work in life… that truth cannot backfire, but lies can. That is why I cannot lie. So, when I was asked about my personal life, I spoke the absolute truth. There was no beating around the bush,” she confesses.
In fact, Seema tells us that she’d reached out to Sohail for his opinion before she joined the show. “He was very encouraging but he was also concerned about how I would react to the trolls that I would encounter. He said if I was okay with it, I should go ahead,” she adds.
But it was not only Sohail but also Seema’s parents, siblings and her soon-tobe-20-year-old son Nirvaan, who motivated her to take up the offer. Apparently, the only thing her parents told her was she should come across as dignified. “My younger son Yohann is only 10, while Nirvaan will turn 20 in two weeks. He and I share a very open and honest relationship, and he is my best friend. He just told me, ‘Mom... you’re going to be with your close friends in a Dharma Production, so there is nothing to worry about,” she says.
So Seema decided to take the plunge, and once that was done, she revealed her true self for the world to see. From her deep-routed fears about air turbulence to her impulsive fight with Bhavana, she has depicted her life as it is. “People felt I had faked that scene on my journey to Doha. But it was my worst flight in the last ten years. When I get onto a flight, I pop three melatonin tablets and pass out till landing. If I take my kids, I put my mum in charge. It is like a joke in my house; nobody wants to fly with me.
I end up calling the crew and the captain and want to chat with them,” she adds.
Likewise, the misunderstanding with Bhavana that blew up into a fight happened in the heat of the moment, she tells us. “That fight came out of nowhere; we hadn’t planned to fight like that. We had a huge row over it. My feelings and emotions took over. We all fight with each other though the next day we were laughing about it. But, yes, we were worried about the world seeing this side of us,” she adds.
The ladies in the show have been friends for over 25 years now and have weathered some rough storms together. So the show did not throw up new revelations.
“I know these girls inside out,” adds Seema. “Maheep is very close to me. She has seen a lot in life and she has learnt to value her close friends. Bhavana is more spiritual and Zen-like, while Neelam has found her happy place. Her priorities are different. Even with me, I am not the same person I was two or three years ago.”
Seema is also a talented but low-profile designer, whose outfits are often worn by her star pals. But now she wants to take her label to international shores. “I am a stickler for detail and like to micromanage things and I think I still have to learn to multitask. But I never wanted to be a part of the rat race. While I am going to move forward with my label, for the moment, I want to take this month off and plan the future in January,” she states.