Aamir Khan tears up, says 30 years of relentless work cost him time with family

For years, Aamir Khan chased the perfect shot, the perfect performance and the next big film. Somewhere along the way, life kept moving. His children grew up, relationships changed, and three decades of relentless work left him confronting a question he had perhaps never stopped long enough to ask himself: what had it all cost him?That realisation came rushing back on stage at the Singapore International Film Festival on Thursday, leaving the Bollywood superstar in tears as he spoke about the personal cost of his career. Recalling a moment of reckoning during the Covid-19 pandemic, Aamir described how he had spent nearly 30 years consumed by his work, only to realise that time with his family was slipping away."When I was sitting in Covid, and I was thinking, I said, about 30 years have passed of my life. And it’s okay to work like a madman, completely obsessed with what you’re doing for one year, two years, five years. But if it goes on for 30 years, I mean, you've lost your relationships. Your kids have grown up; they’re adults now. So I felt a deep sense of loss," he said at the event, as reported by Hindustan Times.The 61-year-old struggled to hold back his tears as he spoke. Pausing to gather himself, the actor apologised to the audience, prompting an outpouring of applause. It was an unusually vulnerable moment for a star often associated with meticulous preparation, creative ambition and an almost obsessive commitment to filmmaking. But the moment of reckoning also brought a change in perspective. Aamir said he had consciously begun making room for his family and close friends over the past four years, determined not to let work consume every waking moment of his life.Looking back, he was grateful that the realisation had come when it still gave him time to make a difference. " I am so glad that this thought occurred to me when I was 56 and not when I was 86, when it would be really too late to do anything about it," he added.Aamir Khan on the lowest point in his career During the conversation, the actor also revisited an earlier chapter of professional uncertainty, when the success of his debut film, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), nearly became a trap of his own making.Fresh off the film's success, Aamir signed nine projects within six months. What initially seemed like an opportunity to build on his breakthrough soon turned into an overwhelming experience. As the films began to fail at the box office, the actor found himself struggling with the weight of expectations and the prospect of being remembered as a one-hit wonder.He recalled returning home and crying to his then-wife, Reena, as one film after another failed to find an audience. The label of a "one-film wonder" only deepened his anxiety about his future in the industry."At that time, mentally and emotionally, I felt like I was in quicksand. I was sinking slowly, and the more I struggled to get out, the deeper I was going," Aamir added.The two experiences, separated by decades, offered a glimpse into the vulnerabilities behind the career of one of Hindi cinema's most prominent stars. While the first tested his confidence as a young actor, the second forced him to reconsider what success meant beyond the screen.Aamir was presented with the Screen Icon Award at the Singapore International Film Festival by renowned Hong Kong-based filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun. The actor later participated in a conversation about his life and work, moderated by Singaporean comedian Rishi Budhrani.He last attended the festival nine years ago, when he presented his production Secret Superstar. This year, he returns to Singapore with another milestone to celebrate: a 25th-anniversary screening of Lagaan, the film that marked his debut as a producer.- Ends