Kiran Rao Clarifies She Started Dating Aamir After His Divorce From Reena Dutta: ‘Everybody Thought This Started During Lagaan'

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao began dating in 2004, three years after the release of 'Lagaan'.

Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan separated in 2021. ( Image Source :Getty )

New Delhi: Aamir Khan's romantic journey from his first wife, Reena Dutta, to his last relationship with Kiran Rao, has always intrigued fans. The speculation surrounding whether Kiran's involvement in the making of ‘Lagaan’ led to Aamir's divorce from Reena has been a topic of discussion for years. However, Kiran Rao has set the record straight in a recent interview, revealing that their relationship began after Aamir’s divorce from his first wife.

In a recent interview, Kiran clarified that her relationship with Aamir did not begin during the filming of ‘Lagaan’ as commonly assumed. She revealed that they started dating in 2004, a good three years after the release of Ashutosh Gowariker's epic. 

"Lots of people think that Aamir and I connected on Lagaan, we absolutely didn’t," Kiran explained in a conversation with Zoom. "Aamir and I got together during Swades, he was going to shoot Mangal Pandey at the time. We had just shot a couple of commercials with Ashutosh Gowariker for Coke, and that is where Aamir and I reconnected. 3-4 years after Lagaan. I wasn’t in touch with him. In fact, on Lagaan, I barely spoke to him."

Kiran further shed light on the complexities that arise when marrying someone with a past relationship. She advocated for couples counselling, a step she and Aamir took to navigate their relationship baggage.

She said, "When you marry someone, who has been in another relationship, there is a baggage that you bring that will affect your relationship. I strongly recommend couple’s counselling. Aamir and I did couple’s counselling. It becomes a neutral ground where you talk about your needs, how you see the other person and that was very beneficial to me. It helped that Aamir and I agreed that we both have to be honest with each other, whatever be the case.”

Despite their separation in 2021, Kiran and Aamir continue to co-parent their son Azad and collaborate professionally. Kiran recently released her second directorial venture, ‘Laapataa Ladies’.