Aamir Khan’s daughter, Ira Khan, has been vocal about her mental health struggles, and has spoken at length about her experience with depression. In a recent interview, Aamir reflected on his experiences as a parent who was trying to support his daughter as she dealt with her struggles. He shared that this was a difficult time for the family and recalled that when Ira called him from her college in Amsterdam, he instantly flew to her to get her back.
In a chat with Filmfare, Aamir shared, “Dealing with anything that causes your child pain is the hardest thing for any parent. You feel far more for your children than you ever could for yourself. That emotion runs deep. So, when Ira went through depression, it was incredibly difficult, not just for Reena and me but for the whole family. We did everything we could to support her and be there for her.”
Aamir went on to recall the early days of Ira’s struggle, which began when she was around 18 or 19, just as she was preparing to leave for college. Aamir said that he was never in favour of a formal education, as he also never followed that route, but he was told by both Reena, his first wife and Ira’s mother, and Kiran, his then-wife, to not discourage Ira to attend college. “Reena and Kiran, both highly educated women, warned me not to influence her. She was set to attend Utrecht University in Netherlands but didn’t want to go. Reena and Kiran sat me down and said, ‘Don’t you dare support her. You must tell her to go.’ Though I was against it, I caved under pressure and told Ira she had to go,” he said.
Aamir recalled that this was “when her depression began.” “Two years later, while I was in Spain working on Laal Singh, she called me and was sounding terrible. I immediately flew to Utrecht, packed her bags, and brought her home. Even in Mumbai, it was tough. Once depression sets in, it’s hard to deal with it. Sadly, a lot of young people face it today,” he said.
In the same conversation, Aamir also opened up about his own mental health journey. He revealed that he began therapy four years ago and has since seen a positive shift in his emotional well-being. Last year, he and Ira even began attending joint therapy sessions to strengthen their relationship. “Therapy is so helpful. I think she (Ira) pushed me down that path. I would strongly recommend therapy to anyone who feels the need for it. It has been helpful for me. In fact, Ira and I also have started joint therapy. The two of us go to a therapist for our own relationship. To work on how to make that better and issues which have been there for over years,” he said in a video shared by Netflix India, where he appeared alongside Ira and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in a discussion about mental health.
Adding to that conversation, Ira emphasised the importance of investing in parent-child relationships, stating that working on those dynamics is just as crucial. She has also previously spoken about how her parents’ divorce impacted her deeply as a child, and perhaps that’s why, in the early stages of her struggle with depression, both Aamir and Reena blamed themselves to some extent. As part of her ongoing advocacy for mental health, Ira has also launched a non-profit organization called the Agatsu Foundation, which focuses on providing mental health resources and support for those in need.
