'Fardeen's honesty works against him'

Laila Khan Rajpal clears the air on her actor brother and offers a sneak peek of her solo art show.

His brush with the law over the use of cocaine may have come back to haunt Fardeen Khan, but elder sister Laila Khan Rajpal is clear that her brother is a "very honest guy, which sometimes works against him."

Understandably, she doesn't want to comment on the legal tangle that the actor's been caught up in, but says, "He is a wonderful, sensitive person and a great brother."

Married successfully for a little over seven years to longtime sweetheart — former tennis champ and businessman Rohit Rajpal — Laila surprisingly hasn't given her relatively newly-wed brother a 'lecture' on commitment.

In fact, she rubbishes his 'playboy' image. "Fardeen is actually a very domesticated, home-loving person," she says, while admitting that he's probably had many relationships before marriage. "He respects and loves women…and yes, he loves to indulge them," she laughs.

A well-known artist in her own right, Laila is in the midst of preparing for her solo art show scheduled for later this year. "I've treated the face as my canvas, basically depicting the struggles that human beings go through," she reveals.

Over the years, this student of the Slade School of Fine Art has established herself as a champion of women, projecting their strengths and complexities through her well-crafted portraits. In fact, one of series that will be displayed at her show is based on Goddess Lakshmi. "She's a symbol of many things including beauty and fertility...she really is the ideal woman," she says.

Of her own inspirations, she reveals that her mother, Sundari Khan, has played a key role in her becoming an artist. "She is an amazing, feminine woman, who conducts herself with a lot of dignity. She's been a source of strength for both me and Fardeen," she discloses. But her art, she says, has been influenced by works of the famous painter of the 1800s Vincent Van Gogh. "He had this fabulous passion, which you can see in his art," she says. "I also love Anjolie Ela Menon — her use of colours is brilliant as is the pathos in her work."

As to why she hasn't followed in her father, actor and filmmaker Feroz Khan's footsteps, she says, "I love the artistic control that I can exert through my paintings. Besides, I don't like being surrounded by people; I like spending time alone. I guess my drama is of a different kind"