Aamir Khan broke down onstage at the Singapore International Film Festival on Thursday as he recalled realizing, during the COVID-19 lockdown, that three decades of nonstop work had cost him years with his family. The Bollywood superstar, who was handed the festival’s Screen Icon Award by Hong Kong director Peter Chan Ho-sun, also shed light on sequels to “3 Idiots” and “Andaz Apna Apna” during a wide-ranging in-conversation session moderated by Singapore comedian Rishi Budhrani. The emotional moment came late in the evening, when Khan was asked about the weakest point of his journey.
He described himself as a lifelong workaholic who ate, slept and dreamed films, and said his family had always been understanding enough to leave him alone. And it’s okay to work like a madman, completely obsessed with what you’re doing for one year, two years, five years. But if it goes on for 30 years, I mean, you’ve lost your relationships.
Your kids have grown up, they’re adults now. So I felt a deep sense of loss,” Khan said. He paused, broke down, apologized and gathered himself as the audience broke into applause.
An audience member handed him a box of tissues. Khan, wiping his tears away, said the experience pushed him to make a major change, and that for the last four years he has deliberately carved out time for his family and close friends. On a lighter note, Khan was asked whether a sequel to “3 Idiots,” the 2009 campus comedy directed by Rajkumar Hirani, is in the works.
In fact, hopefully once I’m back in the next couple of weeks, he’s going to narrate the final version to me. So, fingers crossed.” According to Budhrani, Khan had phoned Hirani in front of him the previous day to check whether he could share the news, and the filmmaker gave his blessing – though Hirani didn’t pick up the first time, as Khan had changed his number. Khan said he had shut his phone a few weeks earlier and is now off all apps, having found that scrolling could swallow three hours at a stretch.
With many fans having shouted out their love for Rajkumar Santoshi’s 1994 cult comedy “Andaz Apna Apna,” Khan was asked whether a sequel is on the cards. After his 1988 debut “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak” became a hit, he signed nine films within six months, reasoning that if established stars could juggle dozens of projects, he could handle 10. Once shooting began, he realized his mistake and would come home and weep to his then-wife Reena.
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