Aamir Khan has often expressed regret at not being there for his children when they were growing up, and at a recent event, the actor said that he is going to go on a short hiatus to focus on his family. This comes after two back-to-back flops Thugs of Hindostan and Laal Singh Chaddha.
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At an event in New Delhi, Aamir appeared debuted an all-grey look after being briefly spotted by the paparazzi in Mumbai some days ago. Aamir had previously shown off his grey hair in a picture posted by his daughter during the lockdown. At Monday’s event, Aamir left his hair and beard uncoloured as he chatted about his career, and where he sees it going in the next year or so.
He said, “When I am doing a film as an actor, I get so lost in that that nothing else happens in my life. I was supposed to do a film after Laal Singh Chaddha called Champions. It’s a wonderful script, a beautiful story, and it’s a very heartwarming and lovely film. But I feel that I want to take a break and be with my family, my mom, and my kids.”
Aamir added, “I feel I have been working for 35 years and I have single-mindedly been focused on my work. I feel that it’s not fair to people who are close to me… This is the time I feel I have to take some time off to be with them and actually experience life in a different way. I am looking forward to the next year, a year-and-a-half in which I am not working as an actor.”
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At the ABP Ideas of India event in Mumbai earlier this year, Aamir opened up about past mistakes, and said, “I feel like I’d spent my life chasing my dreams and trying to fulfil them. But during this journey, I didn’t pay attention to my loved ones. My parents, my siblings, my children, my first wife Reena, my second wife Kiran, their parents… Perhaps I couldn’t devote enough time to them. My daughter is now 23. I am sure she must have missed my presence in her life when she was younger. She will have had her own anxieties, fears, dreams and hopes. I wasn’t there for her, I know this now. I didn’t know her dreams and fears and hopes, but I knew the fears and dreams and hopes of my directors.”
Both Thugs of Hindostan and Laal Singh Chaddha were big-budget failures, and while Thugs was unanimously panned upon release in 2018, Laal Singh Chaddha received fairly positive reviews upon its theatrical release. The public sentiment regarding the film only improved once it debuted on streaming.
Aamir’s career downturn coincides with a lean period for Bollywood, and when the box office pull of stars such as Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman Khan is being questioned. Aamir remains one of Bollywood’s most popular and enduring movie stars, with a reputation for perfectionism and being selective about his work. Previously, Shah Rukh Khan went on a four-year hiatus after the failure of his ambitious film Zero. He will return to starring roles next year, after a series of cameo appearances in 2022.