Aamir Khan blames nepotism debate for son’s film debacle

TAM Desk ||

Aamir Khan has spoken candidly about the failure of Loveyapa, the theatrical debut of his son Junaid Khan, and alleged that the nepotism narrative impacted the film’s reception. In a recent conversation with entrepreneur Raj Shamani, the actor shared his experience of witnessing his son’s early struggles in the film industry and how it has reshaped his emotional investment in cinema.

Junaid, who made his acting debut last year with Netflix’s Maharaj, received favourable reviews for his performance. However, his big-screen debut, Loveyapa, failed to impress at the box office. Directed by Advait Chandan, the film starred Junaid alongside Khushi Kapoor and was a remake of the 2022 Tamil hit Love Today.

Reflecting on the film’s underwhelming performance, Aamir said, “When Loveyapa released, I really liked the film and thought Junaid had done a good job. The role he played was quite different from his real personality. Junaid has this quality — he transforms into the character. I think uss film ko bohat negative backlash aaya. It was heavily trolled, nepotism mein bohat chali gayi ki yeh nepo kids hai (It got a lot of backlash and was trolled heavily. It was dragged into the nepotism debate, labelled as a ‘nepo kid’ film).”

He went on to express how his priorities have shifted since Junaid began his acting career. “I always felt that I was deeply attached to my work, almost obsessively, and what happened to my projects really mattered to me. But when Junaid entered the industry, I realised that a father’s emotions take over. These days, I’m more concerned about Junaid’s work. I want him to succeed, to be happy, and to get the recognition he deserves for the work he’s doing. As a father, that’s a very strong emotion.”