After focussing on work for the last 35 years of his life, Aamir Khan says it is time he took a break – maybe for “a year and a half” – to prioritise his family. While speaking at an event in Delhi, the actor said he was supposed to start preparing for a new film following the August 11 release of Laal Singh Chaddha, which had a disappointing run at the box office.

“But I feel like I want to take a break. I want to be with my family, with my mom, with my kids,” explained the actor, whose mother Zeenat Hussain was admitted to a Mumbai hospital after reportedly suffering a heart attack last month.

“When I am doing a film as an actor, I get so lost in that and nothing else happens in my life,” said Aamir, adding that his “single-minded” focus on his career has neither been fair to him nor his loved ones. “I feel like I have been working for 35 years and I feel I have been single-mindedly focussed on my work. . . And I feel it’s not fair to the people who are close to me. It’s not fair to me also in many ways. This is the time for me to experience life in a different way,” the 57-year-old star said.

“I’m looking forward to the next year, year and a half, in which I’m not actually working as an actor for the first time. . . I’ll work as a producer on Champions because I really believe in the film. I’ll approach other actors now to see if they are interested to do the role that I was hoping to do. I’m at that stage in my life where I want to enjoy my relationships,” he said.

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Actor Aamir Khan made a rare public appearance recently in Delhi, one of his first since the box-office failure of his latest film, Laal Singh Chaddha. What surprised people more was his new, all-grey hair and beard look. A video from the event has gone viral not just because of this, but also because he’s seen announcing that he’s taking a mini break from acting.

“When I am doing a film as an actor, I get so lost in it that nothing else happens in my life. I was supposed to do a film after Laal Singh Chaddha called Champions. It’s a wonderful script, a beautiful story, and it’s a very heartwarming. But I feel that I want to take a break, be with my family,” he said. 

This means that the 57-year-old will not be starring in the film anymore. However, he is still producing it. He declared that the makers have started approaching other actors for the lead role: “I’m at that stage in life where I’d like to enjoy my relationships at this point of time.”

Expressing that he is looking forward to the break now, Khan said, “I feel I have been working for 35 years and I have single-mindedly been focused on my work. It’s not fair to people who are close to me. I have to take some time off to be with them.”