Latest news with #PaaniFoundation
NDTV
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Confessions Of A Superstar: The Aamir Khan We Never Knew
If Hindi cinema were a story, then Aamir Khan would be the protagonist. It is a whimsical thought, but not an outlandish one. Throughout his career, the actor has been a shapeshifter and, by extension, shaped the narrative around films. His strides lent momentum to the industry, and his leaps stoked creativity in productions. His off-kilter choices (producing a 224-minute sports film, essaying a secondary role to a kid, bulking up to play father of two grown-up women, etc) carry the spirit of an underdog, and their audacity needle for support, reserved for main characters. Revelling In Unfamiliarity This has always been the case. Khan has always been a superstar, staking one-third claim in the superstardom of Bollywood - the other two garnered by Shah Rukh and Salman. Yet, his is a distinct case. Over close to four decades, he has straddled art and commerce with the faith of a clairvoyant, taking gambles almost unusual for his stature. If the other Khans cemented popularity by playing similar roles, then he claimed glory by challenging familiarity. His characters are more dissimilar than similar; his range is vast, and the validation has been immense. Among the top 10 highest-grossing Hindi films worldwide ever, three are headlined by him. Like most stars, Khan is attuned to the heft of this power. His filmography leans towards socially conscious cinema, and his bleeding heart informed decisions like co-founding Paani Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preventing drought in Maharashtra, and spreading awareness about malnutrition as part of UNICEF. What Changed? Like most stars, however, he has also been distant. Unlike his colleagues who stack multiple films in a year, Khan has forever paced it out and takes years to mount a film. His interviews have been sparse, providing little to no insight into his personal life or professional myths. His films have broken records, and he is branded as "perfectionist" - a moniker with more notorious than admirable undertones. He also took off from social media, yet he personally reaches out to artists whose work he likes. Younger actors, like Jaideep Ahlawat and Monika Panwar, share in disbelief how they received congratulatory messages from "AK". It was all there - enigma, mysticism and a dash of controversy: the three tenets of stardom. Then, 2025 happened, and something shifted. In the last couple of months, the actor has been everywhere. Wearing basic round neck t-shirts and thick-rimmed glasses, Khan has appeared on podcasts and reality shows; surrounded by actors and hosts, he sat patiently and willingly. He played goofy games like a sport, fondly looked at old pictures and recounted when and where they were clicked. He conversed for hours without hesitation or annoyance. He wiped tears with the same t-shirts and spoke some more. When Aamir Platformed Aamir On one level, his pervasive presence made sense. Khan's new film, Sitaare Zameen Par, released on June 20, and the interviews were part of the promotions. Directed by R.S. Prasanna, Sitaare is the remake of the 2018 Spanish film Champions and centres around a disgruntled basketball coach tasked with teaching the sport to a specially abled group. For a change, the film has neurodivergent performers, and since all are debutants, it was understandable for Khan to lead from the front. And he did. Hopping from one conversation to another, he spoke with sincerity. The pace was relentless, and the energy infectious. No platform seemed small (he attended a Bengali dance show through video!), and no question was irrelevant. But here's the thing: in none of these interviews, he expressly spoke about Sitaare Zameen Par. The subject, it seemed, was Aamir Khan, and the actor took great delight in platforming it. Did we know that he started learning Marathi at the age of 44? Or that one of his dogs' names is 'Sundari'? That he didn't speak to a co-star for years over a silly fight, or that he eloped and married his first wife? Did we know that he regrets being an absent parent and considered quitting acting after the failure of Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)? We did not, but Khan was ready to share, treating each interview with the intimacy akin to that of therapy sessions. Such eagerness was fitting for a newcomer, but on a star, it hung like an ill-fitted attire. The sight was rare and foolishly brave. A 'Rebranding' It is also intriguing. What changed? One way of understanding the outpour is to put it in perspective. Khan, 60, is now more comfortable in his skin than he was before. The last two years saw him opening up, and the current candour could be a more intense version of this. Many recognise this as 'rebranding', a deliberate strategy. His past remarks about growing intolerance in India irked a section of the audience, and since then, his films have met with resistance on social media. This could be Khan placating. Both of these might be true or not. It is impossible to tell, but since the person is Aamir Khan, deeper analysis comes with the territory. A third, and perhaps a more interesting way of looking at the tonal shift in his exchange would be to view them as marketing strategies. 'Apna Apna Normal' Khan is not new to promotions. Stories of him and his co-stars sticking posters of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) on auto rickshaws are widely known (there are videos on the Internet), and so are the other unusual tactics adopted by him. During Ghajini (2008), he famously gave buzz haircuts to fans in keeping with his character; for 3 Idiots (2009), he travelled to different parts of the country in disguise (landing up even at former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly's house) and dropped clues for his fans to locate him. For Talaash (2012), he reprised his cop role for an episode in the popular television serial CID. Lately, Khan's unrestricted access to his life might be incompatible with stardom but aligns with Sitaare, a film whose central messaging - " sabka apna apna normal" - instructs about the private nature of normalcy. When Khan eats vada pav at Dadar station, wells up at past failures, acknowledges being in touch with both his former partners, even though an arrangement like this continues to be rare, he is inherently putting 'his normal' on the table. When he is arriving at interviews and opening his heart to podcasters in a way his colleagues are not known to do, he is inhabiting this 'normal' and imprinting it with his name. This move of talking about himself while promoting a film about individualism is sheer marketing genius. A Second Debut? That doesn't necessarily mean it's selfish or dishonest. During interactions with the media, the actor was not just the subject of curiosity but also the object of scrutiny. When not given softballs, he was grilled about more uncomfortable queries: his political opinions, thoughts on so-called 'love jihad', stance on patriotism, and finding love at 60. Khan answered all, bearing a cross of his own making for the higher pursuit of the film. After all, choosing to be vulnerable comes with its own pitfalls. What has emerged from this is an unvarnished portrait of the actor that carries only faint smudges of past iterations. This is an Aamir Khan we have hardly known before. He is open, fragile and even brittle. He is confessional and contrite, enthused to talk about himself as if, like the other actors in Sitaare, he too is making his debut. Maybe that was the point. (Ishita Sengupta is an independent film critic and culture writer from India. Her writing is informed by gender and pop culture and has appeared in The Indian Express, Hyperallergic, New Lines Magazine, etc.)
Indian Express
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Aamir Khan says PK wasn't against religion, addresses claims it promoted love jihad: ‘My sisters and daughter have married Hindus'
Aamir Khan finally addressed allegations against him that have been floating on social media ever since the release of his 2014 blockbuster, Rajkumar Hirani's satire PK. He defended the film against claims that it targets religion. Along with that, he also responded to the allegations that PK endorses love jihad. 'They're wrong. We're not against any religion. We respect all religions and all religious people. That film just tells us to be cautious of those who exploit religion to fool the common man in order to extract money from them. You'll find people like that in every religion. That was the film's only purpose,' said Aamir. In the interview with India TV, Aamir also clarified his take on the scene in which he shows an Indian Hindu woman (Anushka Sharma) trying to marry a Pakistani Muslim man (late Sushant Singh Rajput). He said that when people from two religions, particularly Hindu and Muslim, fall in love and get married, that's not always love jihad. 'This is just humanity. It's above religion,' argued Aamir. He asked if his sisters and daughter marrying Hindu men is love jihad. Aamir's sister and actor Nikhat is married to Santosh Hegde whereas his other sister Farhat's husband is Rajeev Dutta. Meanwhile, Aamir's daughter Ira Khan tied the knot with Nupur Shikhare last year. Aamir himself has married two Hindu women — Reena Dutta and Kiran Rao — in 1988 and 2005 respectively. When asked while he married Indian women, the names of his kids are Ira Khan, Junaid Khan and Azad Rao Khan, Aamir answered, 'My kids have been named by my wives. There wasn't any interference from my end. Husbands ki zyada chalti nahi hai (Husbands don't have too much of a say)'. He revealed his first wife Reena named their kids Junaid and Ira. 'Let me tell you, Ira is another name for (goddess) Saraswati. Have you heard of Irawati? It's just that Reena wanted to pronounce it differently,' explained Aamir, claiming Ira's name was taken from former BJP minister Maneka Gandhi's book The Penguin Book of Hindu Names. Aamir also explained that his second wife and filmmaker Kiran Rao named their son Azad after his legendary ancestor, Maulana Azad, who was a freedom fighter and the first Education Minister of Independent India. 'Azad isn't a Muslim name. Haven't you heard of Chandrashekhar Azad? He was also a freedom fighter. It's a neutral name,' said Aamir. Aamir added that since he gets trolled from both sides of the fence, that only proves he's doing the right thing. 'I'm very proud I'm a Muslim. I'm also proud I'm a Hindustani. Both of these statements are true,' Aamir said. He pointed out that no other Indian actor has been as socially conscious as him. Also Read — Aamir Khan recalls creditors yelling at him when father went 'almost bankrupt': 'They would say your father hasn't paid us back, very difficult period' Case in point: his TV show Satyamev Jayate and his NGO Paani Foundation. Aamir claimed he brought attention to issues in Satyamev Jayate which cut across all religions. 'Have you seen the film Secret Superstar? What's the religion of that family? So there's nothing like that,' said Aamir. His 2017 blockbuster coming-of-age musical Secret Superstar, starring Zaira Wasim, revolved around the issues of domestic violence and curbed ambition in a Muslim family.
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Aamir Khan opens up about marriage and divorce with exes Reena, Kiran: ‘Divorce mein main kamyab hua hoon'
Bollywood's Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan is currently busy on a promotional spree for his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par. During interviews regarding the same, Aamir has been quite candid about his acting career as well as his personal life and divorces from ex-wives Reena Datta and Kiran Rao. In 1986, the actor got married to Reena, mother to his children Ira Khan and Junaid Khan. In 2002, Aamir and Reena got divorced and three years later he tied the knot with Kiran. In 2011, they welcomed son Azad into the world. In 2021, Aamir and Kiran got separated. This year, the actor introduced media and fans to his new girlfriend Gauri Spratt. A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) In a recent chat with Zoom, talking about his marriages and divorces, Aamir Khan shared, 'In India, marriage is a very serious thing. When your marriage breaks, you go to divorce, and people don't like that. Emotionally, they don't like it either. I know that too, and I also believe that marriage is a very important thing and shouldn't be taken lightly. I completely agree with that. That's why I can present this matter truthfully in front of people, and I should. I do speak the truth that I was married to Reena, but we can no longer stay married, or I was married to Kiran, and now we can no longer stay married. So, it's a loss for all of us. Our families are not happy with this and we are also not doing it happily.' Aamir explained that some circumstances made them realise that their relationship has changed. He went on to add that he and Kiran could pretend that they are happy together and continue their lives like that publicly, while doing whatever they want in their personal lives. However, that would have been a lie and the former couple believed it would be like 'devaluing marriage'. Today, they are happy as co-parents and Aamir is even working together with Reena and Kiran for the Paani Foundation. Aamir stated, 'Shaadi me main kamyab nahi hua hun, lekin divorce me main hua hoon (I wasn't successful in marriage, but I've been successful in divorce).' While Ira is now happily married, Junaid is carving his name in Bollywood, following in the footsteps of his actor father Aamir.
Pink Villa
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Meet actor who is son of filmmaker, doesn't attend award shows, never worked with Shah Rukh Khan and gave India's highest-grossing movie
Not all superstars manage to deliver content in a commercial packaging. He is the one who doesn't fall prey to his superstardom and has always turned the tables with his intellect and high-on-content cinema. He is not only an actor but also a director, producer, and activist who is consistently working for the welfare of the poor in Maharashtra. In today's Meet the actor, we are talking about Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan. Let's delve deep into his professional and personal lives. Born on March 14th, 1965, in Bombay (now Mumbai) to filmmaker Tahir Hussain, Aamir Khan is among the biggest stars in Indian cinema. He made his acting debut with Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973) as a child artist and then kicked off his career as a full-time actor, playing the leading role as a hero in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). The actor has ruled for over 30 years and has delivered several box office hits, including Dil, Ishq, Sarfarosh, Rangeela, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Ghajini, 3 Idiots, PK, Dangal, and more. He is the one who opened a Rs 100 crore net club in India with Ghajini, a Rs 200 crore club by 3 Idiots, and a Rs 300 crore club with Dangal. In fact, his sports drama Dangal is still the highest-grossing movie of Indian cinema at the worldwide box office. Aamir is often compared to Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, as the three Khans of Bollywood are known as the pillars of the industry. While Aamir has worked with Salman and gave a cult movie, Andaz Apna Apna, he never shared a screen space with the Pathaan actor. Aamir is known to be among the first few actors who don't attend award shows and have stayed away from Bollywood parties. He won widespread acclaim for his TV show, Satyameva Jayate, for bringing important stories to the camera. Apart from his celebrity status, the actor also participates in humanitarian causes. He is continuously working for the welfare of the poor in Maharashtra through his Paani Foundation. The 58-year-old has been divorced twice. He was first married to Reena Dutta, with whom he has two children- Ira and Junaid. After his divorce from Reena, Aamir tied the knot with Kiran Rao but separated after 15 years of marriage. At his 60th birthday, the PK actor introduced Gauri Spratt as his girlfriend. He is currently gearing up for the release of Sitaare Zameen Par.
NDTV
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Aamir Khan On His Relationship With Girlfriend Gauri Spratt: "We Met By Mistake And Connected"
New Delhi: Aamir Khan confirmed his relationship with Gauri Spratt on his 60th birthday in March. Did you know that the duo fell in love unexpectedly? Recently, the superstar opened up about how, before meeting Gauri, his age made him believe he would never find a partner. The actor, in a conversation with Raj Shamani on his podcast, said, 'Before I met Gauri, I felt like I had aged, and who will I find in this age. Also, my therapy started, and I understood that I need to love myself first and make myself healthy. So, I worked on that.' Aamir Khan also talked about his strong equation with his ex-wives, Reena Dutt and Kiran Rao. He added, 'I had two very strong, deep relationships with Kiran and Reena and we are close to date and we still respect each other. I never thought I would meet anyone with whom I could bond this way." The actor recalled the first time he met Gauri Spratt. He said, "Gauri and I met by mistake and we connected and we became friends, and love happened. I thought I had my mother, kids, siblings – I have so many close relationships that I don't need a partner.' Aamir Khan also spoke about his ex-wives. He said, 'Kiran, Reena and I still work together for the Paani Foundation, and we sit and talk every day, and there is a genuine love and warmth between us as a family and we will always be family. We might not be husband and wife, but we will always be family. They will always be an unshaken part of my family and life.' Nearly a week ago, Aamir Khan and Gauri Spratt stepped out for lunch in Mumbai. Aamir and Kiran Rao's son, Azaad, also accompanied the duo. Read all about it here. Gauti Spratt owns a salon in Mumbai. She is also associated with Aamir Khan's production house. Workwise, Aamir Khan is ready for the release of his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par. The film will hit the cinema screens on June 20. Sitaare Zameen Par is the spiritual sequel to Aamir's 2007 movie Taare Zameen Par.
