I met Shah Rukh Khan 11 years ago in Goa -- he had just got married and was there with Gauri [his wife]. We'd party all night. We hit it off instantly and have been friends ever since.

He is my friend, brother, father... He means everything to me. I don't listen to anyone -- not to my parents, not to my brother [television anchor Sajid Khan], not to anybody. I don't give a damn about anyone's opinion. But I listen to Shah Rukh. I care about his opinion.

I guess I do this because I feel he really cares for me -- he doesn't say it but his actions show it. I know he wants what is best for me. He has done things for me that even my family members wouldn't do.

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After being a father and friend and brother, he is now my producer as well [Farah's debut production, Main Hoon Naa, stars Shah Rukh, Sushmita Sen, Zayed Khan, Amrita Rao and Suniel Shetty]. When I think about the fact that he invested Rs 20 crores so I could direct a film the way I wanted to... what else can I say to express my affection for him?

I had this script and I wanted to direct it. I showed it to him, hoping he'd produce it and he did. There can't be a better friend.

He also happens to be the best producer ever. He encourages me to spend money. In fact, I sometimes feel I must cut down on the film's expenses. This is his first film as solo producer for which he has created a new production house called Red Chillies Production.

I can talk to him. I can discuss my problems and get objective advice from him. That's because he doesn't judge. He doesn't say you are wrong. He cares and wants the best for me. He's a friend in the true sense of the word.

We have done the maximum work together because we have achieved a kind of comfort level with each other that is wonderful. I feel like I have always known him, like he has been a childhood friend.

Before I met him, I had heard horror stories about how arrogant and rude he was. But when I eventually met him, I felt I was meeting somebody I have known a long time. I think I'm one of the first friends he made after he came to Mumbai.

Even for this film [Main Hoon Naa], it's not like I am working for him; it's as if we are doing it together. We discuss everything and work out things together.

He's a wonderfully warm, generous and helpful person -- he does charity that people don't even know about. He has this arrangement with a hospital where any poor person can go and get treated for whatever illness at his cost. He donated his entire [the Amitabh Bachchan-anchored television game show] Kaun Banega Crorepati winnings of Rs 50 lakhs for a cancer ward in his mother's name.

I wish him very good health and a happy birthday. Like I said earlier, he means everything to me.

Farah Khan spoke to Lata Khubchandani about her close friend, Shah Rukh Khan, who celebrates his 38^th birthday on November 2.

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