NEW DELHI: In an exclusive interview with The New Indian’s Executive Editor Rohan Dua, Aamir Khan opened up about his childhood in Mumbai’s Pali Hill, the nurturing influence of his mother, and how those early experiences shaped his emotional world — later reflected in films like Taare Zameen Par and Sitaare Zameen Par.
“We’ve always lived in the same building in Pali Hill, Bandra,” Aamir said. “My parents moved in there when I was just 11 months old. I’m still the same — although I’ve moved out now.”
Reflecting on his early years, he described his childhood as joyful and full of warmth. “I think our parents gave us a very good upbringing. They gave us a lot of love and support.”
Aamir recalled the contrast between his parents’ personalities. “My father was very busy all the time. He had a very strong temper. We were scared of Abba Jaan. As soon as the bell rang and Abba Jaan came, we would all run away. We knew what he would say, and when. So we had a relationship with our father that probably shouldn’t have been that way.”
He added, “Although in India, this often happens. We are always scared of our fathers. It was the same for us. My father was very strict and short-tempered, while my mother was very loving and affectionate.”
Speaking about his school years, Aamir admitted that studies never interested him. “Like every parent, mine also focused on education. But I wasn’t interested from the beginning. I went to St. Anne’s School, and passed out from there.”
He shared that he and his brother Faisal were more drawn to play than academics. “Faisal and I weren’t much into studies. We were always playing and jumping around. Our sisters, Farhat and Nikhat, were more focused. We were just having fun.”
Despite this, he emphasized how fulfilling and emotionally rich those years were. “We had a very happy childhood.”
The deep contrast between his parents — a disciplinarian father and a nurturing mother — seems to have had a profound influence on Aamir’s worldview and later creative work. Films like Taare Zameen Par and Sitaare Zameen Par have strong emotional undertones focused on childhood, learning, emotional intelligence, and parental understanding — subjects that echo the environment Aamir describes growing up in.
While he doesn’t directly state the connection between those themes and his own life, the parallels are hard to miss. His appreciation for his mother’s unconditional support and gentle nature seems to be a recurring motif, both in his storytelling and in the way he raises his own children.
Aamir’s candid recollections make it clear that while fame and success have taken him far from those early days at Pali Hill, the emotional foundation laid by his mother — and the complex relationship with his father — continue to influence the man he is today.
