Kiran Rao says family came together to support Aamir Khan after Laal Singh Chaddha failure: ‘It took a toll on us’

After the film’s failure, Aamir took a break from acting and announced that he would spend time with his family to experience life “in a different way.” Speaking about the actor’s decision, Kiran shared, “He was the one who took a step back. He wanted to re-examine his work and his life. For someone who was giving successes at the box office, and been relentlessly working for so long, I think it was the time that made him introspect.” When Aamir was introspecting, the family was supportive and was there for him. “We all stuck it out together,” said Kiran.

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While Aamir has his theories on why Laal Singh Chaddha failed, Kiran believes it could have been the film’s “pitch, pace and timing of its release” that affected its footfall in the theatres.

‘Pitch of Laal Singh Chaddha was maybe not what people expected’

“We have thought about it a lot and Aamir has spoken about it extensively. The pitch of the film was maybe not what people expected after seeing Forrest Gump. The pacing perhaps didn’t quite work and we were coming out of COVID-19 and maybe it was not the right film to bring straight after Covid. I don’t know what it was, the pitch, the pacing, the timing of the release or the hype because the film had been coming for so long, a lot of things affected the film. I feel each film has the quality of luck also that applies. Laal Singh was a remake of the worldwide iconic film, so how to play the expectations down to the right level was perhaps what the film suffered from,” Kiran opined.

Kiran and Aamir ended their 15 years of marriage in 2021 and announced their separation. But despite parting ways, the two continue to work together and also support each other as a family.

“There is deep affection and a lot of love in our relationship and there is also deep respect for each other and our own professionalism. We do respect the other’s professional and creative mind and that really helps to keep things separated. We know when to differ to the other person or the other person’s point of view but we greatly rely on each other for creative inputs,” Kiran said.

Aamir Khan, his ex-wife Kiran Rao and their son Azad Rao Khan on a lunch outing. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

Aamir and Kiran continue to fight with each other, but “affection hasn’t been lost or the emotional bond remains the same.” Kirann shared, “It’s not like we don’t fight. We fight like any people who work together, but because of the emotional bond, we know it’s not about the person, it’s about the idea that we are fighting about.”

Kiran Rao has returned to direction after a gap of 14 years. Her directorial Laapataa Ladies releases on March 1. Though now she is an avid consumer of Hindi cinema, when she was studying filmmaking at Jamia Millia Islamia, she only consumed art house cinema and films by foreign filmmakers.

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“When I was in Jamia, and studying film, I was a typical film snob. I was only interested in art house cinema and cinema by Japanese and European directors and even Indian directors whether it was (Satyajit) Ray or (Ritwik) Ghatak and so on.” But then she happened to watch the 1995 film Rangeela, starring Aamir and Urmila Matondkar, and her perception about Bollywood films changed.

“We had some excellent lecturers in Jamia and one class that we did was taught by professor Shohini Ghosh, very well known of course, and Sabina, they were the ones who made us see Rangeela and write a paper on the film. It was a very fascinating exercise for us because we realised that we are operating also in a very real sense in the Indian context. There is a history of popular cinema in India, which we must understand if we want to make films for audiences in India today. I thoroughly enjoyed Rangeela. I loved the film.”

Film star Urmila Matondkar and Aamir Khan in Rangeela. (Express archive photo)

After watching the film, Kiran realised that a lot can be done in terms of story and characters in the context of popular films. She revealed, “That kind of, in some way, started my journey, my interest in popular cinema.” Kiran loved Aamir’s work in the film but she was already a fan of her from the time she watched Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, “I was a fan of Aamir since the release of QSQT. I didn’t watch a lot of films, but I had seen that and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander; I am a big fan of those films. I liked his work since he started.”