Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, made his Bollywood debut with Yash Raj Films’ Maharaj. He was finalized for the role when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which caused significant delays for the film. Fortunately, YRF remained committed to the project, choosing to wait and see it through. However, many of Junaid’s actor friends were not as fortunate. In a recent interaction, Junaid openly acknowledged his privilege as Aamir Khan’s son, and how having a house in Mumbai made a huge difference in his career.
Speaking to Humans of Bombay, Junaid reflected on how, despite the delays, he had the opportunity to debut with a YRF film, whereas many of his actor friends had to leave Mumbai permanently due to financial constraints. He said, “I was lucky, I had a roof over my head, didn’t have to worry about rent or my next meal. I had work, I was rehearsing for Maharaj and I love rehearsing and I got the time to do that. I was very lucky. I know actor friends of mine who had to go home and they haven’t come back yet. They had to give it up because you can’t make rent in Mumbai. So, they had to go back home.”
He further spoke about how some of these friends had defied their families to pursue acting but had to abandon their dreams. “These are friends of mine with whom I have worked on stage, they had done engineering, had made some money after taking a job after engineering, fought with their families and had come to Mumbai to be actors…you can’t spend 7-8 months in Mumbai without work. You have to pay rent and it is not possible. So I was fortunate at that time,” he shared.
Earlier, in an interaction on Bharti TV, Junaid revealed that he had rehearsed rigorously for a dance sequence in Maharaj for 10 weeks because he is a bad dancer. “I had to do garba in Maharaj. I rehearsed for 10 weeks, practicing four hours daily. If you look at me in the film, I’m so thin. It’s all Vaibhavi ma’am’s (choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant) magic,” he said.
Junaid is now awaiting the release of his second film, Loveyapa, which stars Khushi Kapoor, daughter of Boney Kapoor and the late Sridevi.