Imran Khan says failure of Katti Batti made him quit the industry, opens up about how his passion was not driven by money: ‘Life took me in another direction’

Imran Khan revealed what happened in the last 10 years and explained his decision of quitting the film industry suddenly.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | April 19, 2024 10:49 PM IST

3 min read

Imran Khan was last seen in Katti Batti. (Photo: Instagram/imrankhan)

Bollywood actor Imran Khan, who was last seen in the movie Katti Batti, has opened up about why he decided to quit the film industry. Imran also discussed how the industry only tends to focus on box office and monetary aspects of an actor, adding that he could never resonate with it.

In an interview with Film Companion, Imran explained that in the film industry, there’s an entire ecosystem surrounding actors, including publicity, PR, and management. Everyone in this environment tends to focus solely on monetary aspects—how much one earns from films, endorsements, appearances, and even minor events like ribbon-cutting ceremonies. He said that over time, this monetary perspective becomes the primary measure of success. Despite being part of this environment, he realized that his love for films wasn’t driven by money.

When asked if the failure of Katti Batti triggered his step down, the actor said, “Yes. At that moment I didn’t consider it in that way and I never said, ‘Okay, on this day, I’m done, I quit.’ It was kind of a process of a week becoming a month, a month becoming three and becoming a year, and a year becoming two where I said, ‘Okay, I won’t do this because my heart’s not in it.’”

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Imran Khan said that he wasn’t afraid to explore different paths, even if they were completely new. He felt fortunate to have financial security from working in the film industry and with his financial needs taken care of, he could focus on other aspects of life, asking himself who he wanted to be and how he wanted to live.

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The actor said, “Effectively I spent my 20s, working and building and setting up a career. In my 30s, that ended up not being the thing that I felt like focusing on. Life took me in another direction. Effectively these past 10 years I have spent kind of grappling with the larger questions of who am I, what do I want to do, what do I want to be. A series of life circumstances led me to a place where I was not getting the fulfillment.”

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