Junaid Khan: It's too early for me to worry about box office

The actor on his theatrical debut opposite Khushi Kapoor in Loveyapa, his thoughts on comedy films, what it means to be the son of Aamir Khan, and more
Junaid Khan: It's too early for me to worry about box office
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After making his acting debut with the historical drama Maharaj on OTT last year, Junaid Khan will be landing on the big screen this week with the romantic-comedy Loveyapa. The film, helmed by Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) director Advait Chandan, is a big shift from the period-drama Maharaj, in which Junaid played the social reformer Karsandas Mulji and had to maintain a serious tone throughout. Loveyapa will see him play a youngster who is caught up in a comedy of errors. Like most actors, Junaid feels that doing comedy is more difficult than playing serious roles. “The challenges in comedy are very different,” he adds, saying that it was the strong writing material which made it easy for him to portray his character. “Sneha Desai has written the screenplay and she is great with comedy. So, a lot of heavy lifting was done by the script,” he says.

Loveyapa is a remake of the Tamil film Love Today (2022), written and directed by Pradeep Ranganathan, who also played the lead in the film. Junaid watched the original in 2023 when he was offered to star in the remake by the producers. He said he liked it but wasn’t initially sure if he would be well-suited for the role. “I felt that it is a part that is far away from me in terms of the physicality and tone. But eventually after discussing it with Advait and others, I got on board.” The actor says that he didn’t take references for his performance from Love Today as he wanted to bring his own personality to it. “I am physically different from Pradeep. So, taking references wouldn’t have worked,” he says. Loveyapa also marks the theatrical debut of Khushi Kapoor after The Archies, which was released on Netflix in 2023. Junaid and Khushi got to know each other during the filming. It involved doing intense rehearsals as most of their scenes take place over a phone call. “All of that had to be rehearsed a lot so that we understand the rhythm of the other person,” he says, adding that the rehearsals helped build a camaraderie between the two. “It was also shot separately, sometimes weeks apart. So, it was very important to get to a level of understanding beforehand.”

Junaid isn’t new to doing intensive rehearsals. He has been acting in plays before coming to films. He feels that beyond some of the obvious technical differences, acting for the two mediums is more or less the same. His approach doesn’t change as much. “While doing a film, the rhythm of a scene is decided on the edit table but in a play, your performance decides the rhythm,” he says. However, barring the formal aspects, what he did find difficult was to maintain focus on a film set. “Film sets tend to be very chaotic, while on stage it’s only you and your co-actors. So, once the show starts, the rhythm is set, and nothing’s going to change that,” he adds. 

A theatrical release also brings box office expectations. How does Junaid look at it? He claims he is not as concerned and just wishes that the film does well. “Box office means something in the industry when you have a certain reputation. I don’t,” he quips. It also doesn’t bother him that his identity is in many ways attached to his father Aamir Khan. “It’s a part of life now, no one can do anything about that. At the same time, it comes with immense privileges and there’s no point fretting over it.” Junaid also doesn’t think about stardom as much and neither has he discussed what it means to be a ‘star’ with his father. “We don't talk about work at home,” he smiles.

If given a chance, would he star in any of his father’s films? Junaid has a clear answer, “None. I don’t want to change anything about them,” he says, adding that he won’t be able to bring any value to them now. Even hypothetically, he hasn’t thought of wanting to feature in any movie from Aamir’s rich filmography. Not even Rang De Basanti (2006). “It’s my favourite film. I would rather let it be as it is now,” he says. Moving ahead, Junaid wants to work in varied films and doesn’t have a specific genre in mind. “I like all genres. As long as they are interesting stories, I wouldn’t mind working on anything,” he concludes.

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