Why did Bollywood superstars leave films quietly?

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan is known for some of India’s most popular films, including Lagaan and 3 Idiots.

His appeal is so great that he can hardly walk down the street without being surrounded by fans.

What is less famous is that he quietly quit films during the Covid pandemic to spend more time with his loved ones.

“I told my family I was done with acting and films,” he told BBC News.

“I didn’t want to produce, direct or act. I just wanted to be with the family.”

You would imagine that a major star like Khan deciding to leave the industry would have sent shockwaves through India, a country that is completely movie-mad.

But, he says, his decision went unnoticed at the time because very few films were being made due to the pandemic.

“Nobody knew about it,” he says.

However, fans can take a sigh of relief.

Khan did not leave for long. And now he’s back and promoting the film he produced, Lapata Ladies – or Lost Ladies. It is India’s official choice for the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category.

Khan says it was his children who convinced him to go back to work.

“They were like, ‘But we can’t spend 24 hours with you. So be real and get a life.’ So he gently nudged me to come back to films,” he says.

At 59, Khan has worked as an actor, director and producer for three decades.

He is known as one of the three “Khans” of Bollywood – the others being fellow megastars Shahrukh and Salman.

Known for raising social issues, Aamir’s films not only break box office records but are also highly appreciated.

He is also no stranger to the Oscars. The film Lagaan, based on cricket in the 19th century during the British Empire, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002.

Khan is now trying to make history with Missing Ladies. If successful, it will be the first Indian film to win the prestigious international award. On Tuesday he will find out whether the shortlist has been made or not.

Khan said he was “not quite sure” how seriously to take the awards. “Cinema is very subjective,” he says.

But he believes that a win would mean a lot for India.

“I think Indians are very crazy about films and we are dying for an Indian film to win an Academy Award, which hasn’t happened yet. So there will be a stir in the country. If we win they will go crazy ” He says.

“So just for the people of our country and our country, I would be really happy if we win the award.”

Set in rural India, Missing Ladies tells the story of a young man bringing home the wrong bride. Meanwhile, his wife goes missing and he has to fend for himself.

It is a satire based on behavior towards women, which also covers the sensitive subject of domestic violence.

Khan describes the plot as “a little Shakespearean”, with a focus on humor and mistaken identity.

But, he says, it has “a lot of important things to say about women’s issues, their independence, their right to decide what they want to do”.

He explains that it was these issues that first attracted him to the film.

“Every once in a while you get an opportunity as a creative person to make people aware of some of the issues we face in society,” he says.

“Women all over the world have to face a lot of challenges in their lives. Women have to go through a lot in life. So I thought here was a story that really brought it out so well, this is The reason is I wanted to produce it.”

Khan was also “very keen” that his ex-wife, Kiran Rao, direct the film.

The couple, who married in 2005, announced their separation in 2021. But they remain close professionally and personally.

“I think I chose Kiran because I knew she would be very honest about it and that’s what I wanted,” he says.

“We get along really well. We really love each other, we respect each other.

“Our relationship may have changed a little bit – but that doesn’t mean that what we feel for each other has diminished or anything.”

However, this does not mean that it is all business as usual.

Khan admits that there was an argument on the set.

He says, “We can’t make a film without debate. So we debate every point and we have strong opinions.”

“But our sensibilities are very similar. We’re not talking about basic things. We’re just sometimes trying to explain to the other person a better way to express something.”

Bollywood produces hundreds of movies every year and has a huge fan following among Indians globally.

The impact that films and stars have on the imagination of their fans cannot be underestimated.

It has recently had success at the Academy Awards, with RRR’s Natu Natu winning Best Original Song and The Elephant Whispers winning Best Documentary Short Film.

But the win in the international film category has not happened yet, which Khan attributes to the competition.

He says, “India has made some really great films in the last few years. Sometimes it comes down to not sending the right film or not sending the best film.”

“But otherwise we have to understand that the films you are competing against – you are not competing against five or six films, you are competing against about 80 or 90 films, which are the best in the world. “

Asked if a Bollywood film could one day win the overall Best Film award, Khan says it is “possible”.

But Indian filmmakers have to start making films for the global market first, he says.

“I’ve never really looked at the international audience,” he says. “We have such a big audience of our own that it doesn’t even occur to us.

“That will happen only when Indians start making films for a global audience. I don’t think we have the bandwidth for that right now.”

Currently, Khan is focusing on multiple projects with the Missing Ladies, including his next film Sitare Zameen Par, scheduled to release in 2025.

Looking ahead, he is hoping to make one film a year, while his “dream project” is based on the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata.

But since retiring from films, he has decided to do things differently. Then, it affected their children.

“My son said, ‘You’re an extremist,'” he says.

He said, ‘You are like a pendulum. You just did movies, movies, movies. And now you want to go to the other side and not do any films and be with family, family, family. There is also a middle path you can think about.

Khan says his son told him to “try to get some balance in your life”.

“And I thought he was right. So ever since then, that’s what I’ve been trying to do – live a balanced life where I’m working really hard, in fact I’m working more than I should have Never did, but I don’t work anymore after 6 o’clock.”

Khan says he has also started therapy in recent years, inspired by his daughter Ira, who works in the field of mental health.

“I think it’s something that’s really helped me. It’s really helped me understand myself better.

“I’m really looking for a balance between work and personal life. So I think I’ve reached that place now.”

Watch Aamir Khan: The Interview on BBC News Channel and BBC iPlayer.