She’s made top Bollywood actors dance to her tunes. But in her first film as an actor, Shirin Farhad Ki Nikal Padi, Farah Khan will not choreograph her dance track. She says it would be too much stress, so once-upon-a-time assistant Longinus Fernandes, will be the dance director. “I’ve told him to keep the steps simple. A 37-year-old mother of three with knee problems, can’t handle anything complicated,” she says.

Shirin, a 40-plus Parsi spinster ditched by her blind date, goes to a club, gets drunk and starts dancing, making a fool of herself. Producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who’s not been on the sets of sister Bela Saigal’s directorial debut even once, has promised to be there when they’re filming the song. “God help me, I’ll have to really get drunk,” laughs Farah.

She didn’t have to go on a diet to lose a few inches because Shirin’s a well-endowed spitfire. “I had to go to the gym to get my body toned,” she says. However, Shirin’s wardrobe is western. Farah who hasn’t worn a skirt in 20 years since college, had to raid her designer’s Parsi aunt’s wardrobe for inspiration and get outfits tailored .

“My son, a typical Indian male, refuses to come to me till I’m back in my tracks. But my girls, who’re little fashionistas, love my dresses and the false nails I have to glue on since I bite my own nails off,” she says. The film’s inching towards a March 20 finish, and the ‘heroine’ enjoys being in front of the camera with her nerdy hero, Boman Irani.

“It’s not like acting. I can almost forget the camera is there,” she smiles. “What I don’t like are the two hours needed to get ready for a shot… Blow drying my hair, putting on make-up, slipping on heels, that’s so not me!”

Quiz her on the war of words with Shah Rukh Khan and the subsequent patch-up and Farah retorts, “I’m glad the blow-up happened. Things had been simmering for two years, and this was the only way we could have sorted out our differences. Now things are good but I think the people around us are unhappy to see us happy.”