Imran Khan quits acting: Throwback to times when he spoke about his journey in Bollywood

Imran Khan made an impressive entry in films with 2008 release ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’. The much loved romantic entertainer launched him as a promising star in Bollywood but over the years, Imran decreased his screen presence. Revealing that Imran had quit acting, his friend Akshay Oberoi recently told Navbharat Times, “My best friend in Bollywood is Imran Khan, who is no longer an actor because he has quit acting.” While Imran has bid adieu to acting, here’s taking a look at times when the actor opened up about his journey in Bollywood.

In 2015, Imran Khan had opened up how the audience was harsh on him, while attributing the success of his films to the directors. “I have never felt I quite got my due. I have often felt that in my career I have done good films, hit movies but the credit somehow goes to the director and people say ‘he made him act’ or to the promotions. But when a film flops the responsibility is mine and somehow all the flops that I had, have been with big directors so I feel ‘You are such established directors and all the blame is on me!’ When I have given hits with first time directors then the credit goes to the producers. This has been a trend throughout my career. There is a strange perception about me,” he had told PTI.

Imran Khan has had a mixed run at the box office with hits like ‘Delhi Belly’ and ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’ and average movies like ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’ and ‘Katti Batti’. Opening up about rejections in Bollywood, Imran had told Filmfare in an interview, “We actors are put on a pedestal. When somebody is putting 50 crores on you, what if it goes wrong? You drown someone’s 50 crores and the blame falls on you. You’re the face of the film. Rejection is not on a national level, it is on a global level. So you have to come to terms with that and stay calm. Things go wrong and it’s okay. There are things that are in my control and things that are not. I do the best I can for what’s in my control. And what’s not, I don’t let it affect me.”

When Imran's films ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’, ‘Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara’ and ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’ didn’t do well, he had stated in an interview that he was not surprised. “I have done enough films to know that anything can happen (hit or flop film). If I have worked with honesty.. I am happy about it. I have never been surprised by a flop in my career. The choices were intelligent but I think we went wrong in the making of the films, which often happens. You sign on with the best of people but when you end up with the final cut you realise that this was not what we had intended," PTI had quoted Imran.

Imran Khan marked his directorial debut with the short film ‘Mission Mars: Keeping Walking India’ (2018). In an interview with a news portal then, while speaking about his comeback, Imran had expressed that in his heart he was not an actor, but a filmmaker. Imran Khan’s last big screen appearance was alongside Kangana Ranaut in ‘Katti Batti’, which hit the screens in 2015.