Aamir Khan, often called ‘Mr Perfectionist’ in Bollywood, has always impressed fans with his dedication to his work. But off-screen, the actor has also started opening up more about his personal life and past mistakes. In a recent chat with podcaster Raj Shamani, Aamir spoke honestly about the emotional challenges he faced in his marriage with filmmaker Kiran Rao.Letting his guard down, the ‘Lagaan’ actor reflected on moments that still haunt him, especially one where he admitted to unintentionally hurting Kiran so deeply that she broke down in tears.‘Being a workaholic was a red flag’When asked if he had shown any red flags in his relationships, Aamir didn’t hold back. He admitted that being a “workaholic” was one of his biggest faults. He shared that in the earlier stages of his life, he was completely consumed by work. Emotional immaturity, he said, often took control of him.Aamir revealed that whenever he felt emotionally hurt, he would completely withdraw. He said he would not speak to anyone for days and explained, “Whenever I was hurt or heartbroken, I would shut down completely—like the shutters would come down all around me. After that, it was impossible for anyone to reach me.”‘I was so hurt, I stopped talking to Kiran’The ‘PK’ actor recalled a specific disagreement he had with Kiran Rao, saying it was a typical husband-wife argument. He admitted he didn’t even remember what it was about anymore, but it had affected him deeply at the time. He felt so hurt that he completely shut down.Even though they were sharing the same house, sleeping in the same room, and even on the same bed, he refused to properly speak to her. He said he only gave her short, curt replies. He described this as his indirect way of showing her that he was unhappy.Four days passed, and one night, Kiran tried to speak to him again. But Aamir still wasn’t ready to respond. That’s when she broke down in front of him. He remembered her words clearly as she cried and said, “Mujhe samajh nahi aa raha ki main kya karoon, aap toh bilkul respond hi nahi kar rahe ho.”‘Deep hurt… ego is the right word for it’The ‘3 Idiots’ actor admitted that even though he knew the situation had gone too far, he was still held back by a mix of emotions. He said the main reason he couldn’t make peace was his ego. “Deep hurt… ego is a very right word for that,” he said.He confessed that he wanted to make things better, but emotionally, he wasn’t in the right place to take the first step. It was only much later, through therapy, that he began to realise this pattern in himself. He called it a red flag—his inability to forgive when he felt deeply hurt.
