After 15 years of togetherness, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao announced their divorce through a joint statement earlier today. The couple, who had first met on the sets of Lagaan, tied the knot in 2005 and have collaborated on an array of critically successful films including Peepli Live, Delhi Belly, and Dangal, among others. However, did you know, the actor had penned a column in which he asked young people tying the knot to give marriage the 'importance it deserves.'Writing a column for The Hindu in 2012, Aamir spoke about the tendency to spend time, effort, money, and emotion in ensuring that the wedding day is perfect instead of concentrating on the marriage. "And most of our energy goes towards making this one day a success. Often, even our choice of spouse is in some way linked with the driving need to make the day perfect," he said. "We allow our choice of spouse to very often to be dictated by how people will perceive us. But the hard truth is that ‘they (society)' are not going to spend the rest of their life with the groom or the bride," he added.
He broke down the column into four gateways, detailing a few aspects of marriage. "Think about life ahead, not just that one day. Let's give marriage the importance it deserves — in every sense, financial, emotional, mental. Let's give it our time, emotions and energies to plan those years that lie ahead. Therefore, the key is the person you have chosen as your life partner. That is the only element you should be thinking of and no other. And please take your time over that decision. Understand, probe, check, go deep. The better you do this, the happier life is likely to be. Take the step of marrying only when you are fully satisfied about the character and temperament of the person you are marrying," he said. In December 2020, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao celebrated their wedding anniversary with a wildlife safari at Gir National Park. Their son Azad, Aamir’s daughter Ira, and his nephew Imran Khan and his daughter Imara also accompanied them. Besides their collaboration on screen, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao have also set up the Paani Foundation. The Foundation was set up in 2016 by Aamir, Kiran and the core team of the television show Satyamev Jayate. The organisation, which aims to address the problem of water scarcity in the villages of Maharashtra, hosted the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup from 2016 to 2019. Speaking about co-parenting and their foundation, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao said in a joint statement on Saturday: We remain devoted parents to our son Azad, who we will nurture and raise together. We will also continue to work as collaborators on films, Paani Foundation, and other projects that we feel passionate about.