CHENNAI, Aug 11: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, made his Bollywood debut without much fanfare in Yash Raj Films’ Maharaj. However, Junaid isn’t limiting himself to acting; he is also trying his hand at production. In a recent interaction, Junaid spoke about Aamir Khan’s “retirement phase” and how the superstar asked him to take the reins of his production house, Aamir Khan Productions (AKP), and bankroll the upcoming film Pritam Pyaare.

In an interview with the Times Of India, Junaid explained that his experience on film sets, working behind the camera in PK, and shooting ad shots have given him a good understanding of what production entails. After finishing the shoot for Maharaj, Junaid revealed he was working on a film with AKP when his father asked him to take over the production house. “Dad was going through this whole ‘I-am-retiring’ phase,” Junaid said. At this point, Aamir Khan’s ex-wife Kiran Rao was working on Laapataa Ladies, also bankrolled by AKP.

During Aamir Khan’s retirement phase, Junaid took over the production house. He said, “Dad told me, ‘I am retiring, why don’t you take over.’ So, that’s the phase when I stepped in.” Although Junaid admits to having “a decent understanding of production,” he finds it one of the toughest jobs in filmmaking.

While speaking about his father, Junaid also discussed Aamir’s reaction to his debut film. He revealed that neither Aamir nor his mother, Reena Dutta, was “anxious” about his debut. However, Junaid called his father an “easy audience” as he liked the film, whereas he described his mother as the “tougher audience” to please. He also shared that Aamir visited him on the set of Maharaj only once with his three grandparents and then watched the film directly. When asked if Junaid is inspired by Aamir’s work, he accepted that is not the case. Junaid said Aamir has done some great films and others that are not so good.

Aamir Khan’s last hit was Secret Superstar, released in 2017. His next lead appearance was in Laal Singh Chaddha, which he also produced. This adaptation of the Hollywood film Forrest Gump was a box office failure and received mixed reviews from critics.