Why Junaid Khan says involving dad Aamir Khan in Ek Din was a 'mistake': 'I’m just starting out…'

A discussion around Ek Din gave Junaid Khan a clearer sense of how he now prefers to approach feedback and decision-making in his films.

It has been a mixed start to Bollywood for the star, who is still trying to find his footing in an industry where early expectations often run high. While his debut Maharaj earned critical appreciation, his subsequent releases Loveyapa and Ek Din, the latter backed by his father Aamir Khan, have struggled to make an impact at the box office.

Reflecting on Ek Din, Junaid admitted the outcome was disappointing, though not unexpected in a creative journey. Speaking to Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, he said that they were hopeful, as it was a film that he really liked. "I guess most people didn’t like it. That happens sometimes.”

The conversation also turned to Aamir Khan’s well-known emotional investment in his films, something Junaid acknowledged with both respect and familiarity. “Even after all these years, after seeing everything, it still really bothers him. But he keeps himself busy and gets back to it, and goes back out there and does it all over again.”

Despite being Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid revealed that he does not routinely seek his father’s approval on every script anymore, and Ek Din became a turning point in that decision-making process.

“No, because I made that mistake with Ek Din.”

He explained that Ek Din originally belonged to director Siddharth P Malhotra, with plans to begin shooting soon after Maharaj. But wanting a second opinion, Junaid approached his father—a decision that ended up changing the project’s course entirely.

“I thought, ‘Okay, shall I have a second opinion from dad? I really like it, but maybe I should get a second opinion from him.’ So I set up a narration,” he said. And then, there was an unexpected shift in ownership and intent once Aamir heard the script.

“When the narration happened, dad really loved it. And he was like, ‘Siddharth, let me produce it.’ Suddenly he was like, ‘I want to make it. I really love it, sell it to me. I’m finally getting a chance to make a film for my son, everyone is making a film for him.’ It was a rather emotional decision.”

What followed, however, came with practical consequences, something Junaid now sees with clarity.

He described Aamir as a “fantastic producer”, while also acknowledging that a film under Aamir Khan Productions tends to move at a much slower pace due to the scale of the banner. As he put it, taking a project to his father often means it could take years to reach release. "He’s at a stage in his career where he can do one film in five years, I’m exaggerating a bit, I guess, but yeah, he can do one film in three years, four years, five years, and it’s fine. But I’m just starting out. I need to have a steady stream of work. And dad’s now dying to make another film with me, but I’m like, ‘in a bit.’”

Directed by Sunil Pandey, Ek Din is produced by Aamir Khan, Mansoor Khan, and Aparna Purohit. The film is a remake of the 2016 Thai romantic drama One Day, following a young man who falls for a colleague but struggles to confess his feelings, until a single day together changes everything.