On the eve of his birthday, Aamir Khan got candid about his life, his failed marriages and his family. The actor, in an interview with News18 India, opened up about taking his family for granted. He said that when he began his career, his prime focus was on winning the audience’s hearts. While he pointed out that people ideally give three to four years, even go to the length of five years, to focus on setting a foundation for their career, he ended up giving more time to his career than to his family.
Aamir was married twice. He was married to Reena Dutta and has two children with them — Junaid and Ira Khan. They were married for 16 years before they separated in 2002. He then married Kiran Rao and had a son, Azad Rao Khan. They announced their separation last year after being married for 15 years.
“Somewhere I didn’t shoulder my responsibilities. I would start with my parents, my siblings, my first wife – Reena ji, Kiran ji, Reena’s parents, Kiran’s parents, my children, all these people I am talking about are my close ones. When I was 18, when I joined the film industry, I got so absorbed, I wanted to learn so much, I wanted to do so much that I somewhere — today I realise — people who were close to me, I couldn’t give them time the way I wanted to. They are important to me,” he said, in Hindi.
When asked if it was an act of selfishness, the actor admitted that it was. “I was trying to build a relationship with my audience and I gave so much to that relationship, from my time to emotions. I have laughed with my audience, I have cried with them, I have held their hand. They also encouraged me at the same time. I have given them hope through my films like Taare Zameen Par. I have given all my time to my work and I made that relationship very strong. I thought my family was with me anyway. I just wanted to win the hearts of the audience at the time. And, I got completely lost, so much so that I forgot my family was waiting for me,” he added.
He added that he regrets not spending time with them back then. “It’s my biggest mistake (not being able to spend enough time with kids). But I won’t blame my profession for it. Today, Ira is 23 but when she was 4-5, I wasn’t there for her. I was busy with films. Every kid needs their parents because when you are a child you have your own fears and hopes. But when she needed me the most, I wasn’t by her side to hold her hand when she would get scared. And, I know that moment will never come back,” he said.
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