Kamal Ghorui
Junaid Khan is still finding his footing in the film industry, with his recent projects receiving a mixed response. While his debut film Maharaj earned critical appreciation, his theatrical releases ‘Loveyapa’ and ‘Ek Din’ struggled at the box office. The latest release, Ek Din, which was backed by his father Aamir Khan, also failed to perform as expected commercially.Addressing the film’s disappointing run, Junaid admitted that the team had higher hopes from the project. He said, “We were hopeful. But I guess… It didn’t do well. It happens sometimes. It’s a film that I really liked, I really enjoyed. I think we all really liked and enjoyed it, and I guess… a lot of people did really like it, but I guess most people didn’t like it. That happens sometimes,” he said in an interview with Vickey Lalwani. When asked about how Aamir Khan reacted to the film’s poor box office performance, Junaid revealed that his father still gets emotionally invested in every project he produces. “He is still hopeful. Yeah, even after all these years, after seeing everything, it still really bothers him. But he keeps himself busy and gets back to it, and goes back out there and does it all over again.”The actor also addressed comments made by Sai Pallavi, who recently made her Bollywood debut with Ek Din and reportedly suggested she may have been miscast in the film. Clarifying the statement, Junaid explained, “She didn’t say that. She was misquoted in the sense that when we were chatting, when she first saw the film and Sai Pallavi is the kind of person who is a little diffident, so she was not very thrilled with her work. We all think she’s spectacular in the film. But she is the kind of person who feels like, ‘I could have done better,’ or ‘maybe somebody else should have been there’.”During the same interaction, Junaid also revealed why he has become cautious about discussing scripts with Aamir before signing a project. Laughing about it, he said, “No, because I made that mistake with Ek Din.”He went on to explain that the film was initially supposed to be produced by Siddharth P Malhotra, who had directed Maharaj, and was expected to begin soon after that film. However, things changed once Aamir heard the script narration.“I thought, ‘Okay, shall I have a second opinion from dad? I really like it, but maybe I should get a second opinion from him.’ So I set up a narration. And so when the narration happened, dad really loved it. And he was like, ‘Siddharth, let me produce it.’ Suddenly he was like, ‘I want to make it. I really love it, sell it to me. I’m finally getting a chance to make a film for my son, everyone is making a film for him.’ It was a rather emotional decision.”Junaid further reflected on how the involvement of Aamir Khan Productions impacted the timeline of the project. “I think he’s a fantastic producer, especially for a film like Ek Din. But what ends up happening is, then it takes five years to make. AKP (Aamir Khan Productions) is big production banner, it takes time. So then I realised, if I take it to dad and he loves it, then he’ll be like, ‘I’ll produce it,’ and then I’ll have a film coming out once in five years. Which is great for him. He’s at a stage in his career where he can do one film in five years, I’m exaggerating a bit, I guess, but yeah, he can do one film in three years, four years, five years, and it’s fine. But I’m just starting out. I need to have a steady stream of work. And dad’s now dying to make another film with me, but I’m like, ‘in a bit.’”Directed by Sunil Pandey, Ek Din has been jointly produced by Aamir Khan, Mansoor Khan and Aparna Purohit. The film is adapted from the 2016 Thai romantic drama One Day and revolves around a young man secretly in love with his colleague, whose wish to spend a day with her unexpectedly comes true. According to Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 5.4 crore worldwide within 11 days of release.
