Kiran Rao ‘tortured’ Aamir Khan while shooting Dhobi Ghat: I could snap at him because he is my husband

Kiran Rao recalled that Aamir Khan asked her to treat him like any other actor on set, and take his suggestions while working on Dhobi Ghat.

Kiran Rao made her directorial debut with Dhobi Ghat starring Aamir Khan in the lead role. Now, she has revealed that she "tortured" Aamir a bit during the shoot, which prompted him to request Kiran to treat him like any other actor on the set.

Kiran Rao looks back

In an interview with Filmfare, Kiran looked back at the filming of her debut directorial Dhobi Ghat, which also featured Aamir in the lead role. Her former husband also produced the film.

During the conversation, she was asked about the experience of directing her then-husband. Kiran responded, “I feel he is great in Dhobi Ghat. He is lovely in my film. He is the best. Not nerve-wracking (directing him) but I tortured him a little bit. If he was giving some suggestions, I’d be like, ‘no, no, no’ (she would snap)."

Kiran opened up about the challenges she faced while making the film, revealing that she was under immense pressure. The film was made on a limited budget.

She said, “It was also my first film and I was in panic. Firstly it was on a tiny, micro-budget, and I was panicking that I wouldn’t get to do what I wanted. I was very patient with everyone else on set because, obviously, I couldn’t shout at anybody else, and I had to seem like I knew what I was doing with everybody else. But with Aamir, I could snap because he is my husband."

Kiran recalled that Aamir soon put his foot down and asked Kiran to treat him like any other actor on set. She said Aamir asked her to take his suggestions, “be calm, and explain to him nicely”.

About Dhobi Ghat

Kiran made her director debut with Dhobi Ghat in 2010, and after 14 years, Laapataa Ladies marked her directorial comeback. The film revolves around four people from different backgrounds whose worlds intersect and leave a lasting impact on their lives.

Set in Mumbai during the monsoon season, the movie revolves around intertwined lives of Aamir Khan (Arun in the lead role), Monica Dogra (NRI girl Shai) and Prateik Babbar (washerboy Munna).

Kiran's directorial debut had featured in BAFTA longlist in Film Not in the English Language category in 2012, but failed to make it to the top five of international awards. Aamir and Kiran divorced in 2021. He recently produced her film Laapataa Ladies.