Filmmaker Kiran Rao is currently enjoying the success of her second film Laapataa Ladies. Starring Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastav, the movie has left the audiences and the critics impressed. For years, the director had to face a lot of naysayers, who accused her of being the reason behind Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta’s divorce. For those who don’t know, the couple got separated in 2002, a year after the release of Lagaan, where Kiran and Aamir had worked together. Rao has finally opened up about the same and dismissed the claims.
Talking about it, during an interview with Zoom, the 50-year-old filmmaker clarified that she wasn’t romantically involved with Aamir during the shoot of Lagaan. She worked as an assistant director on the Ashutosh Gowariker directorial. While explaining that they never interacted much on the sets of Lagaan, it was a few years later when they were shooting for commercials. It was during the production of Shah Rukh Khan’s Swades that they got together. ALSO READ: Laapataa Ladies: Kiran Rao-Pratibha Ranta’s Heartwarming Hug During The Shoot Steals Hearts!- WATCH
Quoted by Pinkvilla, Kiran shared, “Lots of people think that Aamir and I connected on Lagaan, we absolutely didn’t. Aamir and I got together during Swades, he was going to shoot Mangal Pandey at the time. We had just shot a couple of commercials with Ashutosh Gowariker for Coke and that is where Aamir and I reconnected. 3-4 years after Lagaan. I wasn’t in touch with him.” ALSO READ: Laapataa Ladies: Makers Of Sparsh Shrivastav-Nitanshi Goel Starrer Release Director Kiran Rao’s Adorable BTS Video From The Sets- WATCH
The Dhobi Ghat director recalled that while working on Lagaan she and the 58-year-old actor hardly spoke to each other. She added that during that period of time she was romantically involved with someone else. Dismissing the report of her being the cause of Khan’s divorce, she stated that they started going out in 2004. She added, “Everybody thought that this started when we were shooting for Lagaan and this caused the divorce, which was not the fact.”
For the unversed, Aamir Khan ended his 16-year-long marriage with Reena Dutta in 2002. The ex-couple has a son Junaid Khan and a daughter Ira Khan. He started dating Kiran Rao and tied the knot with her in 2005. They welcomed their son Azad Khan in 2011, via surrogacy. They got separated in 2021. While Junaid is gearing up to make his much-awaited Bollywood debut, Ira is happily married to her husband Nupur Shikhare.
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