In season 4 of Koffee With Karan, Karan Johar managed to get not only Salman Khan on his show for the first time, but also Aamir Khan and his lovely wife, Kiran Rao. Now, it’s not everyday that you get to see an up-close and personal conversation with Aamir, since he prefers staying out of the limelight as much as possible. So we’ve been excited for this show since they shot for it, and it didn’t disappoint – thanks to KJo, we now know 10 things about Aamir Khan that we didn’t before!
1. Aamir didn’t like Karan Johar
Karan, of course, wanted to know why it took him so long to get Aamir on his show. Turns out, Aamir avoided it because he just didn’t like Karan. “When you first started out, I didn’t know you very well… and whatever little I knew, I didn’t like. I’m being very honest. I was a little uncomfortable.” Now, though, he has warmed up to Karan: “But then as I got to know you, I began liking you. When you don’t know a person, you have certain misconceptions many times. I think I had quite a few about you. Or maybe you’ve changed. But anyway, the point is, I like you now.”
2. He had a bad experience working with Salman in Andaz Apna Apna
Karan wasn’t the only one who Aamir had issues with. During the shooting of Andaz Apna Apna, Salman and Aamir never got along. “I had a very bad experience working with him. I didn’t like him, and I found him rude and inconsiderate and… a lot of things.” But we know they’re good friends now, and that change happened when Aamir was going through his split with Reena: “Over the years, I used to meet him, and after the experience of working on AAA, I just wanted to stay away from him. But he walked into my life when I was at my lowest. For about a year and a half, I was just locked up in my house. I was on a downslide. And that’s when I kind of bumped into him again, and he said, ‘I’m going to come over.’ He came home, he sat with me, we began drinking… and something connected. It began that way, and grew into something more. I think I also eased off a lot – I was very uptight, I think. I think he also got more mature. So we kind of balanced off in our own lives in many ways, and when we came together this time, we struck a chord and that grew into a friendship and a fondness.”
3. His only fear is losing the people he loves
Aamir joked that he asks Kiran once a month whether she’s still attracted to him or whether she’s going to leave him. “I keep fearing losing people who are close to me. I fear that all the time. That’s one of my biggest… probably my only fear.”
4. He’s a party pooper
Karan revealed that the first thing Aamir does when he enters a party is ask for a quiet room. Apparently, Aamir has a problem with loud music, so he likes a quiet spot. “You’re a party destroyer, Aamir,” Karan had said, “You destroy parties. You move the party to your house, nobody sticks at that party. One should know I never call you, because either you segment the party into one corner, or you say ‘Come, let’s go to my house.’”
5. He can’t lie
He’s always come off as quite a straightforward person, but on Koffee With Karan it was clear that he can’t lie. In fact, Karan told him that he should never go to a film trial, because he has scarred “half the industry” with his honest comments – Aamir actually told Sanjay Leela Bhansali that he doesn’t like Devdas! Aamir said, “If he’s asking me what I thought of the film, what am I supposed to say? See, according to me, I never judge a film and say it’s bad or good. What I do say is whether I liked it or not. I’m not saying your film is bad, I’m saying I didn’t like it – it may not be of my tastes, or whatever.”
6. He takes his pranks very seriously
In a special video, Imran Khan spoke of this hilarious incident when – in his younger days – Aamir sent over a carton of chewing gum as a special treat. Imran, being very excited, opened one packet only to discover that it was full of cardboard strips. So not only did Aamir get a whole box of chewing gum, but he also sat and opened each packet carefully, inserted strips of cardboard, and then found a way to reseal them again so it would look unopened. Great lengths to go to for one simple prank!
7. He has a great sense of humour
Karan then asked Kiran to tell the audience 3 things they didn’t know about Aamir. One was that he has a great sense of humour, which we already got a taste of when we heard Imran’s story. “People think he’s really serious, but he has an amazing sense of humour.”
8. He has an eating disorder
Another thing Kiran revealed about Aamir is that he has an eating disorder of sorts – when he’s on a diet, he’s completely strict. However, when he’s not on a diet – he will eat anything!
9. He avoids taking baths
The third thing Kiran said was that, if he can, Aamir avoids taking a bath. “I’m a very clean person, I don’t need to have a bath,” Aamir had said, “I believe in water conservation.”
10. He considers himself a fairly average person
Karan asked Aamir to rate himself out of 10 in a numerous aspects – as a father, husband, actor, director, and in bed. Aamir responded with ‘5’ for all of them – although the ‘in bed’ gave him a pause – saying that he genuinely feels 5 is the right number. Turns out, while everyone considers him a perfectionist, he thinks he’s pretty average.
Which was your favourite of the revelations?
Missed other Koffee With Karan episodes? Check out the rest of our round-ups:
Episode 1 – Salman Khan
Episode 2 – Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor