Kiran Rao said, ‘The thing we don’t talk about enough is how marriage tends to stifle, especially women’

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao at the screening

New Delhi: Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan share a cordial relationship even after they announced their divorce in 2021. Kiran Rao, in a recent conversation with She The People, revealed that she and Aamir got married due to parental pressure. They were in a live-in relationship before they got married. Speaking to She The People, Kiran said, ‘I’ve always felt that (marriage as an institution is up for a rethink).

Aamir and I lived together for a year before we got married honestly, we did it more because of parents and you know… all the rest of it and even at that time we knew that it’s a great institution if you can function as individuals as well as a couple within that institution.’

Kiran also reflected upon the institution of marriage and said that how it can ‘stifle’ women with responsibilities. Kiran added, ‘The thing we don’t talk about enough is how marriage tends to stifle, especially women. How you could find perhaps a way to be yourself within the institution. That’s something up for debate and discussion. Esther Perel (American psychologist) has written an amazing book on it, and it’s very interesting. As apes, we were living together. This nuclear family setup is a pressure, and it’s a pressure especially on women.

There’s so much responsibility on the women to run the house, keep the family together. In fact, women are expected to keep in touch with the in-laws, to be in touch with your husband’s family. That’s a lot of expectation.’

In a recent interview with NDTV earlier this year, Kiran Rao talked about her decision to publicly announce her divorce. Speaking to NDTV, she said, ‘It was a conscious decision because in some ways, we do realise that…You know you are in the public gaze. You are living your life very publicly.

What we were doing was completely legal, morally and ethically fine. It’s better to be upfront about it and not let people guess about it.’

Kiran Rao added during the interaction, ‘Then what happens is even after you have said it, people can assign meaning to it but when you don’t, it’s very easy for people to be catty. And we have seen how big public personalities have been dragged through things when they are going through trouble and painful times.’

On the work front, Kiran Rao made a directorial comeback after a decade with Laapataa Ladies. The film has been receiving a lot of love from audience and critics alike. The film has been co-produced by Aamir Khan’s production house.