Singapore, October 22 (ANI): Bollywood actor Aamir Khan got emotional onstage at the Singapore International Film Festival on Thursday as he recalled the weakest moments of his acting career and how three decades of nonstop work had cost him years with his family, reported Variety.
The Bollywood superstar was handed the festival’s Screen Icon Award by renowned Hong Kong-based film director Peter Chan Ho-sun. The emotional moment came late in the evening, when Aamir was asked about the weakest point of his journey in a conversation session moderated by Singapore comedian Rishi Budhrani.
“When I was sitting in COVID, and I was thinking, I said, you know, about 30 years have passed of my life. 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, as quoted by Variety.
He paused, broke down, apologised, and gathered himself as the audience broke into applause. 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.
“I’m so glad that this thought occurred to me when I was 56 and not when I was 86, when it would be really too late to do anything about it,” he said, as quoted by Variety.
During the conversation, Khan was asked whether a sequel to '3 Idiots,' the 2009 campus comedy directed by Rajkumar Hirani, is in the works.
“Well, I’m not allowed to say a lot. I think I can say this much: yes, Raju is working on the script. 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,” said Aamir Khan, as quoted by Variety.
In the same answer about his weakest moments, Khan recounted an earlier low point from the start of his career. 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 realised his mistake and would come home and weep to his then-wife Reena. The films then flopped one after another, and he was branded a “one-film wonder,” as per Variety.
“At that time, mentally and emotionally, I felt like I was in quicksand. I was sinking slowly, and the more I struggled to get out, the deeper I was going,” Khan said, as quoted by Variety.
Accepting the Screen Icon Award, Khan thanked the festival and said that having Chan present it made the moment special.
“Filmmaking is a collective art form, and a lot of people contribute to each other’s work,” he said, as quoted by Variety.
Khan, who last attended the festival nine years ago with 'Secret Superstar,' also has a 25th anniversary screening of 'Lagaan,' his first film as producer, lined up at the festival. (ANI)
"I felt a deep sense of loss": Aamir Khan reflects on weakest moments of his career at Singapore International Film Festival
