Actor Aamir Khan and family have dismissed his younger brother Faissal's claims that he was locked up in a room for a year and treated like a “madman”, calling the allegations “hurtful and misleading”.
“We are distressed by Faissal's hurtful and misleading portrayal of his mother Zeenat Tahir Husain, his sister Nikhat Hegde, and his brother Aamir. As this is not the first time he has misrepresented these events, we feel it necessary to clarify our intentions, and reaffirm our solidarity as a family,” a statement issued jointly by the Khan family read, as per a PTI report.
The statement, issued on Sunday, was signed by Zeenat Tahir Husain, Junaid Khan, Reena Datta, Farhat Datta, Rajiv Datta, Kiran Rao, Santosh Hegde, Seher Hegde, Mansoor Khan, Nuzhat Khan, Imran Khan, Tina Fonseca, Zayn Marie Khan and Pablo Khan.
The Khan family has also requested the media to refrain from turning the matter into a “salacious, inflammatory and hurtful gossip”.
“We request the media for empathy, and to refrain from turning a private matter into salacious, inflammatory and hurtful gossip,” the family members said in the statement.
“It is important to share that every choice regarding Faissal has been taken collectively as a family, in consultation with multiple medical professionals, and has been based on love, compassion, and a desire to support his emotional and psychological wellbeing. For this reason, we have refrained from publicly discussing the details of a painful and difficult period for our family,” the statement reads.
In a recent interview with news portal Pinkvilla, Faissal had claimed that Aamir once locked him up in his Mumbai home for over a year. He also shared that his family members insisted that he had schizophrenia and treated him like a “madman”.
“They were saying I've got schizophrenia and I'm a mad person. I can harm society. I was looking at myself and thinking how do I get out of this trap? It was a trap for me. I was stuck in it because my family was against me. They were thinking I'm mad,” Faissal recounted.
Faissal said he had no phone and was therefore unable to contact his father, the only person who he thought could help him in the situation. “There were bodyguards outside my home and I was given medicines,” Faissal added. A year later, Aamir allowed him to shift to a different house after he insisted, said Faissal.
Aamir and Faissal have shared a turbulent relationship over the years. Faissal was once forced to relinquish his signatory rights by his family. This prompted him to take legal action against them.
During the interview, Faissal also revealed that he recently underwent a 20-day mental evaluation at a renowned institute. The experts and doctors there have certified that he is of sound mind and mentally fit.
Aamir and Faissal starred together in the 2000 film Mela. Faissal last appeared in the 2022 Kannada film Oppanda.
Aamir, on the other hand, is currently awaiting the release of the Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie, which features him as Dahaa.