PNN
New Delhi [India], May 21: For decades, Farha Naaz’s sudden departure from the film industry remained a quiet mystery. A celebrated actress of the 80s and 90s, she stepped away from the screen at the height of her stardom, leaving fans speculating for years about her retreat from the limelight.
Now, a new chapter reveals a powerful truth — Farha Naaz didn’t disappear, she redirected her spotlight. Today, she stands as the co-founder of FRST Foundation, a Mumbai-based nonprofit working to make India safer and more inclusive for blind and disabled individuals — all in collaboration with her son, Fateh Randhawa.
And remarkably, every effort, every jacket, and every raincoat is provided entirely free of cost to those in need.
A Family Legacy, Reimagined for Impact
Fateh Randhawa, Farha’s son, hails from a legendary lineage — the grandson of iconic wrestler and actor Dara Singh, and nephew of acclaimed actress Tabu. But rather than continuing the family’s cinematic legacy, he has chosen to redefine it. Alongside his mother, he co-founded FRST Foundation with a vision to serve those often left unseen — literally and figuratively — in India’s public spaces.
Together, the mother-son duo has turned empathy into action, designing and distributing safety gear that has become a lifeline for many.
India’s Invisible Crisis, India is home to over 35 million blind and visually challenged individuals, yet the vast majority are forced to navigate chaotic roads, silent electric vehicles, and overcrowded transport systems without any form of visual identification or protection. With 1,89,481 accident-related deaths in 2022, and nearly half being pedestrians, it is the blind and disabled who bear the brunt of this danger.
FRST Foundation aims to change that reality, not with charity — but with design, dignity, and visibility.
A Design-Led Safety Revolution At the heart of the Foundation’s efforts are specially designed reflective jackets and raincoats created specifically for the blind and visually challenged. These are not generic handouts — they are thoughtfully engineered safety garments featuring:
* A distinctive blue color, chosen with input from the community, to help the public easily identify and assist those in need.
* High-quality reflective tape, visible from afar even in low light, improving safety near traffic and in emergencies.
* Features that make them life-saving in disasters like fires, stampedes, and earthquakes, where visibility can determine survival.
And most importantly — they are distributed 100% free to the community, with no cost to the recipients.
Real Impact, Documented Transparently To date, over 3,000 blind and visually challenged individuals have received these jackets and raincoats through FRST Foundation’s events.
Distribution drives have been conducted in collaboration with respected institutions such as:
* National Association for the Blind (NAB)
* Blind People’s Association (BPA)
* NSD Industrial Homes
* Kamla Mehta School for the Blind
* Victoria Memorial School for the Blind
* Kumudben Dwarkadas Vohra School for the Blind
* National Federation of Visual Impaired Persons (NFVP)
Each campaign, donation, and milestone is shared publicly via Instagram (@frst.foundation), where the organization maintains a unique commitment to transparency and accountability, also through their website. Official certifications are made available to ensure complete clarity for supporters and partners.
Expanding the Mission While the Foundation began with a focus on the blind, its mission is rapidly evolving. Work is underway to develop a color-coded wearable identity system for people with various disabilities — including hearing, intellectual, and physical impairments — to ensure broader public recognition, support, and inclusion.
This is not a temporary project. It is the beginning of a long-term, systemic shift in how India recognizes and protects its disabled population.
Farha Naaz’s True Role Today, While Farha Naaz may have walked away from the film industry, she has stepped into something even more impactful. Her work through FRST Foundation is quietly changing lives, and doing so without spectacle or applause.
There are no brand endorsements, no paid celebrity promotions, and no profit-driven agendas — just pure service, done with empathy, at scale, and always free of cost to those who need it most.
As many search for meaning in visibility, Farha has chosen to give visibility to those who’ve never had it.
She didn’t vanish. She evolved. And through this evolution, thousands of India’s most vulnerable are finally being seen.
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