"Classic Bollywood so-called celeb for you."
Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan has found herself at the centre of a heated online debate after a video of her declining a tilak went viral.
The moment occurred during a public event where Farah was being welcomed in a traditional manner by a woman at the venue.
As the woman moved to apply the tilak to Farah’s forehead, the Main Hoon Na director gently redirected the gesture.
She politely asked for it to be placed on her hand instead.
The woman obliged, and the interaction concluded without any confrontation.
However, the brief exchange was captured on camera and quickly spread across social media.
What followed was a deeply divided and intensely communal debate.
Several users criticised Farah’s decision, framing it not as a personal preference but as a deliberate refusal rooted in her religious identity as a Muslim.
One X user wrote: “Farah Khan gets offended when a woman offers her a tika as a welcoming gesture.
“Imagine wearing nail polish, which is haram in Islam, but getting offended by a tika because nail polish is a style statement while tika is a Hindu tradition.
“Classic Bollywood so-called celeb for you.”
Another added: “So-called liberal Bollywood director Farah Khan got offended when a woman offered to put tika on her forehead.
“This is Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb.”
A third user also questioned her response, writing:
“Why did this secular Farah Khan refuse to apply tika on her forehead??”
However, a substantial number of voices also came forward to challenge the criticism.
They defended Farah’s right to determine her own participation in cultural rituals.
One user wrote: “She doesn’t prefer to be showered with flowers.”
“It’s her choice. There’s nothing bad in it…
“We don’t know how her mood was that day or what she went through.”
Another stated simply: “Can’t force people to accept Hindu traditions.
“We are free to choose whatever we want to.”
Those defending Farah also raised the valid point that she had not refused the tilak entirely but had simply requested it be placed on her hand.
The fact that she accepted the gesture in an alternative form was seen by many as a sign of respectful participation rather than rejection.
Farah Khan has not responded publicly to the controversy or addressed the viral video.
The episode adds to a growing list of moments where Bollywood celebrities face intense online scrutiny for their responses to cultural or religious customs.
