Kiran Rao clarifies she and Aamir Khan started dating after his divorce with Reena Dutta: 'I was actually seeing somebody else during Lagaan'

Filmmaker Kiran Rao recently opened up about the challenges she faced due to misconceptions surrounding her relationship with Aamir Khan. When Kiran began dating Aamir, who was previously married to Reena Dutta, she faced online trolling and rumours suggesting she played a role in the end of Aamir's first marriage. However, Kiran clarified that she and Aamir were not romantically involved during the making of Lagaan.

"Lots of people think that Aamir and I connected on Lagaan, we absolutely didn’t. Aamir and I got together during Swades, he was going to shoot Mangal Pandey at the time. We had just shot a couple of commercials with Ashutosh Gowariker for Coke and that is where Aamir and I reconnected. 3-4 years after Lagaan. I wasn’t in touch with him during Lagaan. In fact, on Lagaan, I barely spoke to him. I was actually seeing somebody else during Lagaan. When Aamir and I started going out in 2004, everybody thought that this started when we were shooting for Lagaan and this caused the divorce, which was not the fact," Kiran told Zoom.

Furthermore, Kiran shared insights into the challenges they faced as a couple, particularly due to the baggage from Aamir's previous relationship. She advocated for couple's counseling, revealing that she and Aamir underwent counseling sessions to strengthen their bond and address underlying issues.




"When you marry someone who has been in another relationship, there is a baggage that you bring that will affect your relationship. I strongly recommend couple’s counseling. It becomes a neutral ground where you talk about your needs, how you see the other person, and that was very beneficial to me," Kiran stated.



Kiran and Aamir tied the knot in 2005 and continue to co-parent their son Azad Rao after their separation in 2021. Despite parting ways, they maintain a cordial relationship, as evidenced by their professional collaboration on Kiran's recent directorial venture Laapataa Ladies, which was co-produced by Aamir.