Director Kiran Rao said she is still “hung over” from the wedding of Ira Khan, the daughter of her former husband and Bollywood star Aamir Khan. “The wedding was so beautifully curated by Ira and Popeye (her fiance Nupur Shikare), keeping each of us in mind,” Kiran Rao told THE WEEK's Namrata Zakaria in an exclusive interaction.
Ira, the daughter of Aamir and film producer Reena Dutta, tied the knot with her long-time partner Shikhare on January 3.
Aamir and Rao were married for 16 years before they announced their divorce in 2021. Aamir and Reena got divorced in 2002.
According to Rao, Ira celebrated her special day by getting personalised gifts for her family. “She gave me a little oil painting of me on a street in Berlin,” she said. “I thought that was so special to make, in the middle of planning her wedding.”
Rao said that the divorce has not come in the way of her bonding with Aamir and his family. “We are a large family with varied interests, like music and sports. So, we had an obstacle course, and a sangeet where we teased each other,” she told THE WEEK.
Visuals of Aamir, with his two former wives, made a modern, happy divorce a practical and respectful idea. “We are all naturally inclusive. We all get together for dinners on Monday nights. We live in a community and our homes are all in the same housing society. I hang out with Reena and Nuzhat (Aamir’s cousin) independently of Aamir, too. These are relationships you shouldn’t lose if you get divorced. Aamir and I didn’t have an acrimonious divorce; we may have parted as a couple but we are very much a family,” Rao said.
“Even at the end of a marriage, you’ve put so many years in a relationship and that should count for something.”
Rao is awaiting the release of Laapataa Ladies—her second film as director——which hits the theatres on March 1.
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