Bollywood icon Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, who made his Bollywood debut in Yash Raj Films’ ‘Maharaj’, received praise for his performance in the film from all quarters. The actor is also venturing into film production with his dad’s production company Aamir Khan Productions (AKP). In a recent interview, Junaid discussed his father's “retirement phase” and how Aamir Khan encouraged him to take charge of the production house and its upcoming film ‘Pritam Pyaare.’
When Aamir Khan Told Junaid That He Is Retiring
In a conversation with the Times of India, Junaid shared, “I have been on film sets and behind the camera on the set of PK. I have assisted in ad shoots as well. After we completed the shoot for Maharaj, there was a film we were working on at AKP (Aamir Khan Productions). At that point, Kiran (Rao) was making Laapataa Ladies and dad was going through this whole ‘I-am-retiring phase’, and he even spoke about that. He told me, “I am retiring, why don’t you take over.” So, that’s the phase when I stepped in. I think I have a decent understanding of production. It’s probably one of the toughest jobs in filmmaking.”
Junaid on his parents' reaction to his debut film
Junaid also spoke about his father’s reaction to his debut film. He mentioned that neither Aamir nor his mother, Reena Dutta, were “anxious” about his debut. “They weren’t anxious, they were happy for me. They are not anxious people generally, as they have been through all of it and more. The fact that they weren’t anxious also helped me with everything that was going on with the film. They both liked it. Dad liked it quite a lot.”
Earlier at an event Aamir Khan had said that he was “stressed” ahead of the release of Junaid’s film and wondered whether people would like his work or not.
'Maharaj' featured Junaid in the role of the real-life 19th-century social reformer Karsandas Mulji. The film, directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, premiered on Netflix on June 21.