The actor says his kids or anyone else would not be in his films unless they fit the part. He can’t be dishonest
Monika Rawal Kukreja (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 15, 2019)

The buzz around Bollywood star kids and their speculated grand debut on the silver screen is perennial. Ask actor Aamir Khan about his kids’ showbiz career and he shares that both Ira and Junaid — his kids from his first marriage — who have decided to do theatre for now, are doing it without his help. Junaid debuted as a theatre actor a while back. Ira, recently, made her directorial debut with the Greek tragedy titled Medea.

In the times when nepotism in showbiz is constant talk, the 54-year-old says, “I’m so glad that they’re following what they want to do, and what’s most important is that they’re doing it on their own. They are not taking my help in anything... Which is good, because I think that’s how it should be. Ira had told me (about the play), but she had not asked me for any help, nor did she say, ‘Dad, please guide me’. Junaid is acting in theatre and he’s also on his own.”

However, Khan is quick to add that he does get nervous as a parent. “When I go to see Junaid’s play, I’m like, ‘I hope he has done well’. And now that Ira is directing a play, I hope she does well, too. I’m nervous for her. It’s a natural parental response hoping that your child does well. I guess that there’s no escape from that nervousness,” he shares.

But will the two enter Bollywood? Khan says it would be entirely their call “if they want to” and they’ll “have to find their own way” to do so, for Khan won’t ever be “dishonest” to himself and his craft. “For me, to cast anyone in a film, the main criterion is ‘Are you appropriate for that film?’ If you’re not, it doesn’t matter whether you’re my relative or my child. I can’t be dishonest to my creative belief,” Aamir continues, “So, if I do cast Junaid, it’ll be because I feel he’s right for the role. And if ever it happens that I produce a film that Ira wants to direct, it would be because she’s right for the film not because she’s my daughter.”

On the work front, his production house is in the process of developing a number of “exciting” films and series for the web space. “There are certain stories, which need telling in a way that allows you episodes. We’ll see how it goes because development is an uncertain stage.... Until the script comes out, we won’t say anything,” says Aamir, who will be seen in Laal Singh Chaddha.

Is the urge to venture into digital space a result of the fact that many established names from Bollywood have entered the web? He denies and explains, “No, it’s nothing like that. As a production house, we don’t make content in terms of platforms. In these 19 years of me producing films, I think we’ve only made eight films, whereas production houses conventionally would like to produce multiple films in a year for it to be economically viable for them to run. While for us, until we get a material that excites us, we don’t venture into it.”