Born Parsi, married a Muslim, cremated as Hindu: Zarine Khan's daughter pens note

On Nov 7, Bollywood's veteran interior designer Zarine Khan passed away. She was the wife of filmmaker Sanjay Khan. Zarine breathed her last at her residence in Mumbai after suffering from age-related ailments. She was 81.

Zarine has left behind a legacy that will be carried forward by her family, including four children, Sussanne Khan, Simone Arora, Zayed Khan, and Farah Khan Ali, and her grandkids.

Farah Khan Ali pens a note for her late mother

A day after Zarine's passing, Farah, who is a jewellery designer, shared a heartwarming tribute to her mother, whom she called a very special woman known for her humanity.

Sharing a picture of her mother, Farah wrote,''My mother, Zarine Khan, was a very special woman. Her philosophy of life was to ‘forgive and forget.’ She was kind-hearted, loved by all her friends and family, and cared deeply for everyone around her."

Calling her mother the “bond that held the family together," she wrote, “Born a Parsi, married as a Muslim, and cremated according to Hindu rites — she epitomised humanity," she wrote. “She was the bond that held our family together, and her legacy is something we hope to live by."

Zarine Khan Photograph: (IG/ Farah Khan Ali)

Born into a Parsi family, Zarine was formerly Katrak. However, her son Zayed performed her last rites according to Hindu rituals. Several celebrities attended her funeral, including former son-in-law Hrithik Roshan, Saba Azad, Rajat Bedi, Esha Deol, Zoya Akhtar, and Jackie Shroff, among others.

Zarine was a well-known figure in the industry and had close relationships with several Bollywood stars. To share their condolences, several Bollywood stars, including Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rani Mukerji, Gauri Khan, Neetu Kapoor and Jaya Bachchan, visited her home.

Before she became a successful interior designer, Zarine had a brief stint in acting and had appeared in films such as Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963) and Ek Phool Do Mali (1969). In 1966, she married Sanjay Khan, a well-known veteran filmmaker, and eventually stepped back from acting.