Aamir Khan Recalls Flying To Amsterdam To Bring Ira Home During Depression: ‘Dealing With Your Child’s Pain Is The Hardest’

Aamir Khan opened up about daughter Ira’s battle with depression during college, recalling how she sounded “terrible” on a call from Amsterdam — prompting him to fly there and bring her home.

Aamir Khan shared that Ira's mental health issues began around the time she was preparing to head to the Netherlands for her college

Source : Instagram/@khan.ira

Bollywood star Aamir Khan recently spoke candidly about a deeply personal chapter in his life, his daughter Ira Khan’s mental health struggles. In a recent interview with Filmfare, the actor recalled the emotional turmoil he and his family went through as Ira battled depression during her college years abroad.

Aamir Khan recalled the time when Ira Khan battled depression

Aamir reflected on how powerless he felt as a parent watching his daughter in pain. “Dealing with anything that causes your child pain is the hardest thing for any parent. You feel far more for your children than you ever could for yourself. That emotion runs deep. So, when Ira went through depression, it was incredibly difficult, not just for Reena and me but for the whole family. We did everything we could to support her and be there for her,” he said.

The actor shared that Ira's mental health issues began around the time she was preparing to head to the Netherlands for her college education at Utrecht University. Aamir admitted he wasn’t keen on formal education, citing his own unconventional academic path. However, both his first wife Reena Dutta and then-wife Kiran Rao advised him against discouraging Ira.

“Reena and Kiran, both highly educated women, warned me not to influence her. She was set to attend Utrecht University in Netherlands but didn’t want to go. Reena and Kiran sat me down and said, ‘Don’t you dare support her. You must tell her to go.’ Though I was against it, I caved under pressure and told Ira she had to go,” Aamir shared.

He added that this was when her downward spiral began. “Two years later, while I was in Spain working on Laal Singh, she called me and was sounding terrible. I immediately flew to Utrecht, packed her bags, and brought her home. Even in Mumbai, it was tough. Once depression sets in, it’s hard to deal with it. Sadly, a lot of young people face it today,” he said.

Aamir Khan shares his experience with therapy

Aamir also shared his own experiences with therapy, revealing that he began attending sessions four years ago. It was Ira who encouraged him to take that step, and the two now even attend joint therapy sessions to strengthen their bond as father and daughter.

“Therapy is so helpful. I think she (Ira) pushed me down that path. I would strongly recommend therapy to anyone who feels the need for it. It has been helpful for me. In fact, Ira and I also have started joint therapy. The two of us go to a therapist for our own relationship. To work on how to make that better and issues which have been there for over years,” he said during a mental health panel with Netflix India, where he appeared alongside Ira and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.

Echoing her father’s sentiments, Ira stressed the importance of nurturing parent-child relationships and working through long-standing emotional dynamics. Over the years, she has spoken openly about how her parents’ separation affected her, and both Aamir and Reena have acknowledged blaming themselves when Ira’s mental health declined.

As part of her ongoing commitment to mental health advocacy, Ira has also launched the Agatsu Foundation, a nonprofit organisation aimed at improving access to mental health care and building supportive resources for those in need.