Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao announced their separation in 2021, ending a 16-year-old marriage. However, the ex-couple continues to be cordial and recently delivered a successful film, Laapataa Ladies together.
Kiran directed it and co-produced it along with Aamir. Now, the filmmaker has opened up about the first time they met each other on the sets of Lagaan.
Kiran Rao on her first meeting with Aamir Khan
During a recent podcast with Cyrus Broacha, Kiran Rao opened up about how she ended up working with Aamir Khan on the sets of Lagaan. The filmmaker recalled getting a call from Reema Kagti, who asked her if she wanted to join. Kiran was in between jobs at that time, and the schedule was expected to go on for 3 months. Even though she hadn’t seen ‘a lot of’ Hindi films then, she agreed to come.
Talking about the ‘huge risk’ Aamir was taking with the film, she said it was a sports film set 100 years ago in Awadhi, which was a different dialect altogether. “When I was in charge of getting all of them into layers and layers of their outfits, it was quite an experience. It was like a film school for me,” said Kiran.
The filmmaker, who was an AD on the sets of Lagaan, recalled that the 3 months of shooting extended to 6 months. She shared that it was quite an eventful year for her because, along with Lagaan, she did Monsoon Wedding as well. “Then Reema and Zoya were doing Dil Chahta Hai, so they sent me to Goa for extra casting,” she added.
Reconnecting with Aamir Khan during Swades and dating him
Kiran shared that she reconnected with Aamir Khan when she was working on Swades, and he was doing Mangal Pandey. “That’s when we started dating,” she said while adding that after Swades ended, Aamir started working on Rang De Basanti.
Kiran also recalled that when Aamir was shooting for Rang De Basanti and was traveling for two-three months, she traveled along with him and started writing Dhobi Ghat. “I actually wrote my film Dhobi Ghat when Aamir was shooting for his film,” said Kiran.
About Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies
Laapataa Ladies revolves around newly married Deepak and Phool, who take a crowded train to Mukhi, where Deepak and his family reside. When he arrives at the station late at night, Phool is mistakenly switched by another newlywed on the same train, owing to Deepak’s failure to distinguish his wife, whose face is hidden behind a red veil.
Deepak returns home and discovers that the woman he has come with is not his wife, Phool, but rather a lady who identifies herself as ‘Pushpa Rani.’
The film is directed by Kiran Rao, who has also produced it along with Aamir Khan and Jyoti Deshpande. Apart from Deepak Shrivastava, Nitanshi Goel, and Pratibha Ranta, the film also stars Ravi Kishan in an important role.
