Aamir Khan talks about alcoholism, reveals he would down entire bottle

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan turned 57 on Monday (March 14). Aamir, who made his Hindi film debut in 1988 with the film, 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' at the age of 18, recently opened up about regretting not giving enough time to his family, spirituality, religion and alcoholism.

For the unversed, used to drink alcohol occasionally in the past but has been completely sober for some time now. 

Speaking about the same in his recent interview with News 18 India, the 'Laal Singh Chaddha' actor said in Hindi, "I used to drink sometimes, but I don't anymore. Some people take two pegs and they are sorted. But I was never one of those who drank regularly. I used to drink on occasions, but whenever I did sit down to drink, I would down the entire bottle. And I felt that that was not okay. And when you are intoxicated, you do or say certain things which you later regret. Not that anything major has happened like that until now, but the fact that a person is no longer under their own control, that didn't sit well with me."

Meanwhile, looking back at the time when he took his family members for granted, the actor opened up about his personal life, career, family and value system.

Opening up about how he could not give enough time to his near and dear ones, he shared, talking in Hindi, "Somewhere I didn't shoulder my responsibilities. My parents, my siblings, Reena ji --my first wife, Kiran ji, Reena ji's parents, Kiran ji's parents, my children...all these people are very close to me. I was 18 when I joined the film industry and I got so absorbed, I wanted to learn so much and do so much. Today I realise that, these people, who were so close to me...I couldn't give them my time the way I would want to."

READ: 'Darr,' 'Josh,' 'Nayak,' 5 movies Aamir Khan rejected

 

Apart from his family, he also talked about the values he considers important, including following the three pillars of Jainism. He said, "When there is someone whose thoughts you do not agree with, one should keep an open window in their minds that maybe the other person is right. At least one should understand that just like you have thoughts, others have their own thoughts, and have an equal right to express them as you do. This is one of Jainism's three pillars which I try to follow in my life. One is non-violence, second is use as less as you can, don't waste. And the third is this, that the other person has the complete freedom to feel different from your ways of thinking."

About his personal spiritual beliefs and ideology, Aamir said he does consider himself to be spiritual and while talking about religion, the actor said it's a hard concept to escape from especially if you are born and brought up in India. 

"Our country is like that. As a child, you grow up listening to the tales of the Mahabharata and Ramayan. It resides in us, you cannot escape it if you are an Indian. As far as I am concerned, I have not done anything actively which is spiritual in nature. But in my own way, I consider myself spiritual too,” he said.

For the unversed, Aamir married Reena Dutta in 1986 and are parents to Junaid Khan and Ira Khan. They separated in 2002. He married Kiran Rao in 2005 and they share son Azad Rao Khan. The couple announced their separation last year in 2021.

On the work front, the superstar will be next seen in the highly anticipated film 'Laal Singh Chaddha' that also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh and Naga Chaitanya in pivotal roles. The comedy-drama is slated to release in theatres on April 14, 2022.