- By Tapapriya Dutta
- Thu, 23 May 2024 09:55 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao got divorced in 2021 after being married for 16 years. However, they are very good friends and have decided to co-parent their child Azad Khan. Recently, the Laapataa Ladies' director shared that they had to get married due to parental pressure. She shared that they were in a live-in relationship for a year and during that time their parents pressured them to get married.
In an interview with She The People, Kiran said “I've always felt that (marriage as an institution is up for a rethink). Aamir and I lived together for a year before we got married honestly, we did it more because parents and you know… all the rest of it and even at that time we knew that it’s a great institution if you can function as individuals as well as a couple within that institution.”
Speaking on her separation from Aamir, Kiran also stated “The thing we don't talk about enough is how marriage tends to stifle, especially women. How you could find perhaps a way to be yourself within the institution. That's something up for debate and discussion. Esther Perel (American psychologist) has written an amazing book on it, and it's very interesting. As apes, we were living together. This nuclear family setup is a pressure, and it's a pressure especially on women. There's so much responsibility on the women to run the house, keep the family together. In fact, women are expected to keep in touch with the in-laws, to be in touch with your husband's family. That's a lot of expectation.”
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The couple met on the sets of the 2001 film Lagaan, where Kiran was an Assistant Director and Aamir played the lead role in the movie. But they started dating in 2004 and eventually got married in 2005.
On the work front, Kiran Rao made a comeback after 14 years as a director with Laapataa Ladies. The film garnered a lot of appreciation both from critics and audiences. It stars Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Shrivastav, and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles.