Kiran Rao says family came together to support Aamir Khan after Laal Singh Chaddha failure: ‘It took a toll on us’

Aamir Khan was broken after his last film, Laal Singh Chaddha, on which he spent many years of his life, was dismissed by the audience.

He took a sabbatical and reflected upon where he went wrong with the film. Recently, his former wife and filmmaker, Kiran Rao shared that the entire family ‘stuck’ together to support Aamir during the testing times. She also shared that while they have chosen to go their separate ways on the personal front, the ‘affection, love and respect’ of their relationship remain intact, and they continue to work together as creative individuals.

Directed by Advait Chandan, Laal Singh Chaddha was a box office dud. The film was the Indian adaptation of Tom Hanks starrer Forrest Gump. ‘It did take a toll on us,’ Kiran told indianexpress.com, and added, ‘As a family, we were all around Aamir.’

After the film’s failure, Aamir took a break from acting and announced that he would spend time with his family to experience life ‘in a different way.’ Speaking about the actor’s decision, Kiran shared, ‘He was the one who took a step back. He wanted to re-examine his work and his life.

For someone who was giving successes at the box office, and been relentlessly working for so long, I think it was the time that made him introspect.’ When Aamir was introspecting, the family was supportive and was there for him. ‘We all stuck it out together,’ said Kiran.

While Aamir has his theories on why Laal Singh Chaddha failed, Kiran believes it could have been the film’s ‘pitch, pace and timing of its release’ that affected its footfall in the theatres.