Aamir Khan, one of Bollywood’s biggest starts with over 35 years in the entertainment industry, almost walked away from it all.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Aamir Khan and his ex-wife Kiran Rao, discussed the emotional journey that led him to reconsider leaving films and shared how his family convinced him to stay.
Aamir Khan said, “I was going through a personal journey of my own, and towards the end of COVID, I found myself sitting alone and reflecting. The time alone made me realize that I’d spent the bulk of my adult life, from the age of 18 when I first became an assistant, entirely focused on cinema and films. This made me think that maybe I hadn’t been there enough for my relationships, my kids, my siblings, my family, whether it was with Kiran when I was married to her or Reena when I was married to her. I felt I hadn’t been present enough for these people.”
The Taare Zameen Par actor shared that he realized this during the shooting of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha, when the pandemic halted production.
“I felt a lot of guilt and didn’t feel good about what I had done. So, in an emotional reaction, I thought I’d done enough films in my 35 years in the industry and could now focus on my family and personal relationships”, Khan admitted.
Aamir Khan reached a point where he felt conflicted between his career and family.
“I called my family and told them that I wanted to quit films to spend time with them, this wasn’t out of disappointment with cinema, but rather an emotional feeling that I wanted to be more present for my loved ones. I am quite an extreme person, so when I was doing films, I was doing only films. My son Junaid and my daughter Ira convinced me not to quit. They pointed out that I was swinging from one extreme to another, from only films to only family, and suggested I could find a balance. They explained this to me, and eventually, I came back to films”, the Lagaan actor explained.
Earlier, in a podcast with Reha Chakraborty, Indian actor Aamir Khan, known for perfectionism, made a surprising admission. He acknowledged that his performance in the movie Laal Singh Chaddha was subpar, which contributed to the film’s failure.
The anchor was taken aback by his honesty, remarking that no actor or star ever admits to their own performance being the reason for a film’s poor reception.
Khan responded by saying, “Yes, my performance was not up to the mark, and I have a lot to learn from it. But I’m confident that my next movie will showcase a better performance.”
The film Laal Singh Chadda was released on August 11, 2022.
