"Never, never marry young..."

SAYS THE OYE OYE GIRL SONAM KHAN, WHO WANTS TO COME BACK TO SHOWBIZ AFTER THREE DECADES. SHE TELLS FARHANA FAROOK THAT THIS TIME SHE'S WILLING TO GIVE IT HER ALL

-  FARHANA FAROOK

Tridev (1989) witnessed an unlikely alliance: the paragon of parallel cinema, Naseeruddin Shah, jived with teen sensation Sonam on the now-cult song Oye oye tirchi topiwale song. Inspired by Gloria Estefan's Rhythm is gonna get you, the number made the unsuspecting Sonam a star overnight. Decades later, the ditty continues to serenade generations, 'celebration' being its genre. Sonam, who had a spectacular rise, doing around three dozen films, including Mitti Aur Sona, Lashkar, Kroadh, Ajooba, and Vishwatma, quit it all to wed filmmaker Rajiv Rai in 1991. A few years later, she came to know that her son, Gaurav Rai was autistic. Since then, she's lived on several continents, trying to equip him with life skills and more. In the bargain, she acquired a survival kit for herself too, in which empathy and self-realisation dominate. Her marriage behind her, Sonam, at 51, is looking forward to a revival. She's keen to rekindle her romance with the camera and herself...

Did you always want to be an actor?

I wanted to be a teacher or an air hostess. I began working in film to support my family. I was the only child of my parents, Talat and Mushir Khan. I find it difficult to talk about them in the past tense. My mother passed away in 1999 and my dad in 2001. I lost them in a span of two years.

It’s said the late Yash Chopra gave you the name Sonam in your debut film, Vijay (1988).

True. Yashji believed my actual name, Bakhtavar Khan, was too heavy for an actress. Coincidentally, both names have the same meaning. Bakhtavar means the fortunate one. While Sonam, supposedly a Tibetan name, also means ‘fortunate’.