Actor Imran Khan had a great run at the movies in the 2000s, and for a few years, he was earmarked as the next big star of Bollywood. Unlike the other stars of his generation, who typically pretended to be single, Imran got married to his then girlfriend Avantika when he was a popular leading man in films. The marriage fell apart a few years later, and in a recent interview, Imran said that since they started dating in their teens, a lot of the patterns in their relationship never evolved. He shared that he was already on a journey to work on his mental health when he decided to separate.
He shared with Filmfare, “I entered this relationship when I was very young. I was 19, and in all good faith and good intention. But as is sometimes the case with these kinds of long-term relationships, particularly when you start at a very young age, a lot of the interpersonal dynamics and patterns get set in how you were as a teenager and as you grow, perhaps, I think all of those did not grow and evolve enough and in some way, we were not supporting or empowering each other to be the healthiest version of ourselves.”
Imran acknowledged that this was “an unfortunate facet of our dynamic.” He added, “So, I was a couple of years into my mental health journey and in the middle of that, is where I made the choice to separate.” Imran and Avantika were married for almost eight years.
He also spoke about his relationship with his 10-year-old daughter, and said that they have built a very “open relationship” with each other. “My daughter and I have formed a tremendously close and open relationship, which is something that I have really wanted to grow and develop my relationship in that way. I wanted her to have a sense of comfort and security, to have the sense that I am there for her, I got her back, but also the sense that she should feel easy and open about talking to me without the fear of judgement,” he said.
Imran said that there are certain moments with his daughter that he considers to be “priceless,” and shared, “She has spoken to me about emotional parts of herself. At night, when you are putting them to bed and the lights are dimmed, you have those 5-10 minutes of… it’s a safe, intimate space where she will talk to me about the feelings in her heart and at times, I have been so overwhelmed by the idea, by the fact that she is sharing that with me. That is priceless.”
