MUMBAI, India — Jewelry designer Farah Khan Ali has shared a deeply personal tribute to her late mother, actress Zarine Khan, recalling how her strength and faith played a crucial role in saving her husband, actor-filmmaker Sanjay Khan, after a life-threatening fire accident.
In a long and emotional note posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Farah reflected on her mother’s life, describing her as a woman who led with kindness, compassion, and unwavering belief in hope, even in the darkest moments.
“Death is the greatest equaliser. I could never have imagined what it truly makes you feel until I lost my mother,” Farah wrote, adding that the loss made her understand “the depth of loss and, even more, the value of love in your life.”
Recalling a defining moment from her childhood, Farah spoke about the 1989 fire accident on the sets of Sanjay Khan’s television series The Sword of Tipu Sultan, which left her father with severe third-degree burns. Doctors, she said, gave him barely a 10 percent chance of survival and advised amputating his hands to save his life — a decision her mother firmly refused.
“She believed that if he survived he would never forgive her for making that decision,” Farah wrote, describing her mother’s conscious choice to remain hopeful despite overwhelming odds.
Farah revealed that Zarine Khan ensured her husband never realized how critical his condition truly was. She instructed her children to dress well and speak only of positive, happy things during hospital visits. Zarine herself, Farah said, showed up every day “dressed beautifully, carrying a big smile on her face,” distracting him with trivial, made-up stories while quietly breaking down in tears outside his room.
“She believed deeply that energy reacts to energy,” Farah wrote. “My father never realised how serious his condition was, because a patient reacts to the energy of those around him.”
Sanjay Khan ultimately survived, later being referred to by doctors as a “miracle man.” Farah credited that miracle to her mother’s faith, resilience, and determination to remain strong in the face of despair.
Reflecting on her own grief, Farah said the loss of her mother has been the most heartbreaking period of her life. “She was my best friend, my confidante, my go-to person, my inspiration,” she wrote, adding that her mother’s sudden passing left her feeling as though she had lost the spark that gave her strength.
Zarine Khan, wife of Sanjay Khan and mother of Sussanne Khan and Zayed Khan, passed away on November 7, 2025, at the age of 81 following a cardiac arrest.
Marking 40 days since her mother’s passing, Farah said she is now trying to return to life guided by Zarine Khan’s words. “No matter what you are going through in life, one must always dress up and show up with a smile,” she wrote.
Thanking family, friends, and followers for their support, Farah concluded by saying her mother may be gone from sight, but never from her soul. “Life must go on, and so must I,” she wrote. “She may be gone from my sight, but never from my soul, and with her love, I will walk again.” (Source: IANS)
