Farah Khan Ali says mother Zarine Khan wanted Hindu cremation, recalls facing online hate: ‘People were so against’

Farah Khan Ali discussed the backlash her family faced after cremating her mother, Zarine Khan, following her last wish.

Veteran star Sanjay Khan's daughter, Farah Khan Ali, recently opened up about her family facing backlash after her mother, Zarine Khan, was cremated according to Hindu customs following her death in November last year.

Sanjay Khan in photo with Zarine Khan.

Farah on why her mother was cremated as a Hindu

In a recent interaction, Farah shared the reason behind the family's decision to cremate Zarine according to Hindu rituals and revealed that it was her mother's last wish. She told Vickey Lalwani, "Even though she was born a Parsi and married a Muslim, she asked us to cremate her as a Hindu because she wanted her ashes to be immersed in flowing water in Kashmir. She was claustrophobic about being in a grave. So that was one of the reasons she wanted to be cremated, and so we did. It was really sad because when she died there were so many unkind comments on social media, both from Hindus and Muslims, asking why we were cremating her. The Muslims were like, 'How can you cremate her? She was a Muslim.' And the Hindus were like, 'How can you cremate her? She was a Muslim.'"

Farah on facing trolls

Farah admitted that she and her family were deeply hurt by the comments made by people on social media. She said, "It was sad because you live in a world... at least I come from a family where we were taught to love all religions and celebrate all festivals. And here, even in death, people were so against each other. This has only happened in the last 10 years in this country, where people have fought against each other over religion. But anyway, I ignored all those comments. I've become the ignoring queen. I can ignore trolls very well. Because, at the end of the day, I think you only have so much time, and you should spend it with people who matter and people you love."

Farah also recalled how Zarine's prayer meet had five priests from different religions—Parsi, Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh—all offering prayers. She further revealed that around 2,000 people attended the prayer meet, making it a truly interfaith farewell that reflected Zarine's beliefs and values.

About Zarine Khan's death

Zarine Khan was an actor and interior designer. She was married to veteran actor Sanjay Khan. She breathed her last in November last year at her and Sanjay Khan's Mumbai residence. She passed away at the age of 81 after suffering from age-related ailments for a long time. She was the mother of four children, including Hrithik Roshan's ex-wife Sussanne Khan.