After making startling revelations in an interview given to Bollywood Hungama in September 2020, in which Aamir Khan’s long-forgotten brother Faisal Khan claimed that his family had forcibly administered him wrong medications and forcibly kept him under house arrest for more than a year, he has given another interview in which he expressed his desire to come out of his superstar brother’ shadow.
In an interview with the Times of India that was published on October 22, 2020, Faisal Khan spoke on an array of issues, particularly about his directorial debut and his need to break out of Aamir Khan’s shadow.
‘Want people to recognise Aamir as my brother, not the other way around’: Faisal Khan
Responding to the question of whether he had received any help from Aamir Khan for his directorial venture, the Mela actor denied receiving any assistance from his brother. He said that Aamir has not even read the script that he is working on and he doesn’t need anyone’s help owing to his extensive experience as an actor and as an assistant to the directors. He added that he has come through a process and climbed his way up from being a third assistant to the director to being the first assistance.
Faisal also added that he wanted to helm a project that he could call as his own and be responsible for its success or failure. Khan said that he wants people to recognise Aamir Khan as Faisal Khan’s brother and not the other way around, and for this, he will have to break out of his superstar brother’s shadow and make his own decisions.
“I didn’t let anyone take the decisions, ultimately, as a director, you’re supposed to take your own decisions. Also, how does one form one’s own identity? I have had my own struggles. How does one break out of that? How does Faisal Khan ever break out of Aamir Khan’s shadow? Why doesn’t one write it as Faisal Khan’s brother Aamir? The whole system needs a big change,” Khan replied when asked if he had received any help from Aamir Khan on his directorial venture.
False allegations of mental illness destroyed my acting prospects: Khan
The former actor also opened up about how his career took a hit because of false allegations of him being mentally ill and depressed. The false notions of his mental illness had dried up work for him as an actor and people in the industry were scared to work with him, owing to the rumours about his mental capacities. Recounting the hard times, Khan said he was actively seeking opportunities in the field of acting but people were simply not ready to meet him. It is at this time, he switched his career from acting to directing, Khan said.
“I realised that it won’t be easy to get into direction, it will be an equally difficult task. However, it turned out fine for me. Now that I have directed a film, I don’t need anyone’s approval for my mental state. They are entitled to think what they want, the world can think what they want, it doesn’t affect me one bit. My work will speak for itself and that’s what matters,” Khan said.
Khan was illegally administered drugs and confined by his family
Earlier in September 2020, in an explosive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Khan had rejected the talks around his depression and mental illness as a lie. “I was never depressed or had paranoid schizophrenia”, he said. However, he made some serious allegations against his family.
“When my family was under the assumption that I am depressed, I have paranoid schizophrenia, they kept me under house arrest for one year. They gave me forceful medication which is not right and it’s illegal”, he revealed. “I was quietly tolerating it all hoping that they will finally understand,” he added.
Faisal Khan had said that he had to run away from his house after his family asked him to give up his signatory rights because they thought he was not normal. This was followed by a court case. Khan has further stated that there was a legal battle over his mental fitness and he was deemed normal after an evaluation by JJ Hospital.
However, quite contrary to what Faisal Khan maintains about his mental health, a statement was given by Aamir Khan in 2007 where he said that his brother was declared mentally ill by the doctors of J J Hospital. He had also told that he had even applied for his brother’s custody but the court granted it to their father.
