‘Ziddi' Aamir Khan on his 7-year feud with Juhi Chawla over pranks on Ishq set, says his stubbornness delayed reconciliation: ‘Reena mujhe bolti thi…'

Indian Express

3 days ago

Despite sharing a warm bond and starring together in several blockbuster films such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Ishq and Love Love Love — which continue to be cherished even today — Bollywood icons Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla once had a bitter feud that lasted nearly seven years. During this period, the two did not speak to each other. Aamir Khan recently opened up about the fight and admitted that his own stubbornness had delayed their reconciliation.
Appearing on Raj Shamani's podcast, the Bollywood star reflected on his character traits that he considered red flags. He explained that if someone emotionally hurt him or broke his trust, he would completely shut them out, refusing to give them any opportunity to reconnect. Aamir admitted that he used to exhibit high levels of ego and would give the silent treatment even to those close to him. However, he added that he has since managed to curb this tendency to some extent.
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'I did not talk to Juhi for seven years. Even when we were working together, we did not talk. I got upset with her over a trivial matter. Juhi tried a lot, but I didn't budge. Reena (Dutta, Aamir's first wife) mujhe bolti thi, 'Kaise kar rahe ho tum? Milo use, khatam karo.' (Reena told me, 'What are you doing? Meet her and end the fight.') But I didn't. I was stubborn,' Aamir shared.
Revealing the reason behind their feud, Juhi once said that it happened on the sets of Ishq, where she starred alongside Aamir, Ajay Devgn and Kajol. Maintaining that the two men, during their time together on set, played so many pranks on her that, after a point, she got agitated. 'Aamir was somebody I liked as a friend. We used to fight about tiny things. Once, we fought over something stupid and didn't speak to each other for some time. We were shooting for Ishq, and Aamir and Ajay would pull pranks on me on the set. They went on till a point where I almost cried. I was upset and, in an egotistical moment, declared that I would not shoot the next day,' she once told Savvy Magazine.
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Juhi added, 'And to my word, I didn't go to the set the next day. The following day, Aamir, Ajay, and Induji came to my house, and Aamir apologised. But once that was resolved, Aamir got very upset with me. He said, 'You can say anything to me or fight with me, but you cannot not come to the set. The whole day of shooting got stalled because of you. And that's a big loss to the producer because the whole unit turned up.''
Juhi also revealed how she and Aamir reconciled: 'Years later, something happened, and I went to meet him and said, 'Aamir, it was very stupid,' and he said, 'Why didn't you just come and say something to me before?' He thought I was angry with him, and I thought he was angry with me. That's why it is so important to clear things up, because sometimes it's just a miscommunication.'
Aamir himself, during a media interaction in 2002, revealed that they buried the hatchet when Juhi reached out to him after learning about his and Reena's separation. 'When she got to know about my divorce from Reena, she called me up and asked to meet. Juhi had been close to both Reena and me, and she wanted to sort out our differences. We might not have been on talking terms, but had continued to care for each other,' he shared.