Imran Khan is a famous Bollywood actor, director, producer, and animal activist known for his good looks and boyish charm. Born with the surname ‘Pal,’ Imran later replaced it with ‘Khan.’ He became famous before making his Bollywood debut as actor Amir Khan’s nephew. Please keep reading to know more about the actor, his early life, his Bollywood journey, and more.
Early life
Imran Khan was born in 1983 in Madison, a city in Wisconsin, United States, and is an American by nationality. His birthday is on January 13, which means he is a Capricorn and is currently 40 years old.
Not many people know this about him, but he was born in a Hindu family, and his father was Anil Pal, a British Bengali man. Pal was a senior manager and software engineer at Yahoo. On the other hand, his mother was Nuzhat Khan, the daughter of famous writer/director/producer Nasir Hussain and Ayesha Khan, an assistant choreographer. She was a successful psychologist too.
Imran Khan spent his early childhood in the US until his parents separated. After the divorce, he and his mother moved to Mumbai, where he again got married to famous actor Raj Zutshi. Imran states that he keeps his mother’s surname to respect her struggles as a single mother.
The actor states that despite his parents’ separation, they were always cordial with each other. Besides, he openly says that he is lucky to have received the guidance of all three parents. But unfortunately, while everything else was normal, Imran had several personality disorders.
Imran Khan actor suffered depression
In later interviews, the actor revealed that school punishments negatively impacted him as a young boy. He also reveals his lonely childhood because of changing schools several times. As a teenager, actor Imran Khan also had specific speech problems, which are no longer there after undergoing therapy.
After shifting to Mumbai with his mother, Imran went to the Bombay Scottish School. However, this is the same place where he was experiencing corporal punishments in the form of caning. As a result, he started stammering, and his grades also went down constantly.
While he was not very expressive, all this around him, along with the new family dynamics, was giving him a hard time. As a result, the boy could not cope with the situation and became very nervous. Moreover, Imran showed signs of facial ticks at this time too.
After her second marriage, Nuzhat, Imran’s mother, decides to send him to the Blue Mountain Boarding School in the Coonoor region of Tamil Nadu. While initially, Imran was finding it difficult to manage alone so far from his family, now he feels happy that he went there. However, one thing that did not go up was his grades.
Later, when the principal of Blue Mountain went ahead to establish his institution called Gurukul, a few students, including Imran, went to this place. The school was in the interior jungles of Ooty, with no water or electricity facility.
Later, the actor reveals that as a student of Gurukul, he and his friends did all the cleaning in the creeks. Moreover, they were also doing organic farming at the place, which means that the institution followed the holistic form of learning called Vedic learning.
Khan’s passion for filmmaking and love for animals
After growing up, Imran returned to the US and started living with his father, Anil Pal, in Sunnyvale, California. There he went to Fremont High School, and his aspiration was always to become a filmmaker. He also moved to Los Angeles to attend college and chose filmmaking as his primary subject. He was one of the best students in his class at the LA branch of the NYFA (New York Film Academy).
After gaining some knowledge about cinematography, screenwriting, and direction, he stepped into the advertising and research industry. The Delhi Belly actor says that his inspiration was Roald Dahl, and that’s why he finds writing therapeutic. After a few years, Khan joins the KNKAI or Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institution for further knowledge about the film industry.
The ‘chocolate boy’ from Bollywood is a PETA award holder as an animal lover. According to sources, he was shooting for his movie ‘Gori Tere Pyar Mein’ when he saw a trainer hitting a dog, which made the actor furious. However, he immediately gave the trainer a push that led to a small fight. However, PETA recognized this action and honored Imran with an award.
The loving father and fantastic actor
The actor debuted with the multi-starrer film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na opposite Genelia D’Souza. Khan also received the Filmfare Award for the best debut male for the movie alongside Farhan Akhter. Imran Khan also received the Apsara Film & Television Award, Stardust Award and the Screen Award in 2009 for the same movie as the best debutant male.
While his second and third films were a miss at the box office, Imran Khan later delivered several good performances. Once termed as a ‘one-time Bollywood wonder,’ the hazel-eyed actor went on deliver stellar performances in hit movies like Delhi Belly, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, and more. As a child actor, he was also part of movies like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.
Imran Khan’s love life has been relatively simple from the very beginning. According to sources, he fell in love with his childhood friend Avantika Malik when he was only 19. Post that, he was never part of any affairs and finally got married to his love Avantika in 2011. Together, they have a daughter too.
The couple’s engagement was a week-long lavish affair. However, the couple went separate ways in 2019 after staying together for 8 years. But, as per media reports, Imran Khan seems to have found love again in actress Elizabeth Lekhi from the South Indian film industry.
Final thoughts
Imran Khan the actor has taken a break from Bollywood after winning many hearts. In an interview, he states that too much attention and limelight give him anxiety. Therefore, he chooses to live a low-key life. However, he never accepts quitting Bollywood and says he will return with his directorial ventures at the right time.