Mumbai: In a heartfelt conversation with Farah Khan for her YouTube show, ‘Serving It Up with Sania’, ace tennis player Sania Mirza opened up about being a single mom and getting panic attacks after divorcing Shoaib Malik.
Talking about her struggles as a single mother and how during one of her lowest moments, Farah had come to her rescue, Sania shared, “You showed up when I was having a panic attack before a live show. You told me, ‘No matter what, you’re doing this show.’ I wouldn’t have done it without you.”
Farah smiled and said, “I got so scared that day. I left my shoot midway and came in my pyjamas and chappals.”
Praising her resilience, Farah added, “Nothing is more difficult than being a single mother. It is very hard. We all have our journeys, and we have to choose what’s best.”
Revisiting her childhood and speaking about her humble beginnings, Farah said, “I was a very spoiled, pampered child till then. But I saw the repercussions over the years. And I don’t blame the industry for it because it happens in every industry. If you are a failure, people won’t come to you. When people say Bollywood is tough — no, life is tough.”
She continued, “Success sells. You have to make sure that you don’t get affected by failure or success. Later, I understood why my dad took to alcohol. But as a child, it was traumatic — you couldn’t even bring your friends home.”
“We had a whole floor, and then we started selling flats. Finally, we came to one hall and one bedroom — from five bedrooms to one hall and room,” Farah added.
To make ends meet, her father rented out their hall to card players.
“They would give us ₹35 every day. That helped us buy milk and vegetables for the next day. But when they didn’t come, we didn’t have money to buy milk,” she recalled.
Farah’s voice softened as she spoke about her father’s alcoholism, “My dad was lovely, but to see him like that… the smell of alcohol still triggers my childhood memories. I used to stay in college till 6:30 pm just to avoid coming home.”
