Imran: My relationship with Lekha began during a terrifying time
Actor Imran Khan rose to fame with the 2008 movie Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and went on to do a number of projects. After his last big-screen outing, Katti Batti (2015), the 41-year-old went missing in action for close to a decade.
Jaane Tu... became a big hit. You were the next big thing, compared with Ranbir Kapoor. Were you actively a part of the fame game?
I never considered competition. How do you actually measure this — and the idea that if I make a really good film and it is successful, then somebody else loses — until their next film comes? So then their film earns more, suddenly my film is now less? A great example is my uncle’s (actor Aamir Khan) Andaz Apna Apna, a box-office bomb. The film was a flop with an F, and today, we all love it.
A lot of my closest friends have absolutely been taken aback with me looking to work again. IMRAN KHAN, Actor
So, you started telling people you have quit acting, and left your projects?
I was attached to a few films then. I backed out of a couple. I was in extended talks on a film which I believe, ended up being called Thar (2022). And Harsh Varrdhan (Kapoor) played that role. I started pulling back. These are also years that I was dealing with depression.
ON PERSONAL LIFE...
A lot was happening in your personal life, too. You were a father, going through separation...
Being a father made me resolute — that I need to fix my health, have to be there, be the best father that I can. If I am not well, if I am not the best version of myself, how could I be the best father?
You had disappeared, but rumours about your marriage and personal life would keep coming out. Were you reading?
I approached it with this idea of the separation between the real me and what people say. What I cared about is the people who will come to my face and say, ‘Imran, I have a question’ and directly say it. I can look at them and say, ‘Do I owe you an answer?’
How did your relationship with Lekha Washington begin?
It started during the pandemic. It was a very scary time. I had moved back into my mom’s place nearby. I had her, aged 60, and my young daughter, and no staff. They couldn’t go anywhere. It was terrifying for me. At that point, Lekha and I were in touch on the phone. She had also been locked down alone in Mumbai. She said, ‘I’ll take you out* shopping and help you.’ I started to find the support in her. We would walk around the lanes of Bandra (Mumbai) to find food.
What kind of a mental space are you in right now?
I feel strength and clarity I’ve not felt since I was in my early 20s. My daughter is about to be 10. I have her with me Thursday to Sunday. It’s all settled and sorted. I do all of the stuff for Imara without any nanny. I drive her to school myself in the morning. I pick her up. The limited amount of cooking that I can do, I do for her.