Ira Khan, the daughter of Bollywood icon Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta, has consistently raised her voice on matters concerning mental health on various occasions. She has openly shared her personal struggles with depression and how she overcame them. It’s worth noting that Ira was diagnosed with clinical depression over five years ago.
In a recent revelation, Ira disclosed that her parents’ divorce played a role in triggering her depression. Although she characterized the divorce as ‘amicable’, she acknowledged that it had a significant impact on her mental well-being. During an interview with ETimes, Ira emphasized that while her parents’ divorce contributed to her emotional challenges, she does not hold them accountable for her mental health condition. She expressed that both Reena and Aamir Khan conveyed to her that divorce “wasn’t a major issue.” Ira was quite young when her parents separated in 2002. Reflecting on the situation, she shared, “My therapist pointed out that one of the trigger points was my parents, who handled their divorce as best they could back then. It was amicable. I’m not placing blame on them, but the way they portrayed divorce as inconsequential led to a perception my mind constructed.”
She admitted that we often form perceptions without effectively communicating them to others. Consequently, she took some responsibility for her depression, acknowledging her misguided belief that she needed to be sad for people to care about her. Now, she’s committed to unraveling this mindset and finding happiness. Ira expressed her desire to undo the past and actively pursue a happier life.
In a prior interview with the same outlet, Ira had already mentioned that her family has a history of mental health disorders. This time around, she reiterated that her depression has a genetic component. She shared, “Depression is intricate, stemming from a blend of genetics, psychology, and social factors. In my case, genetics play a part, given the history of mental health concerns on both my mother and father’s sides of the family.”
In 2010, Ira took a courageous step by sharing a video discussing mental illness. On World Mental Health Day, she candidly discussed her own experiences. Through her post’s caption, she stated, “Life is a mixture of complexities and contradictions, leaving us perplexed, stressed, and sometimes alright yet not entirely so. It’s challenging to encapsulate everything in one go. Nonetheless, I believe I’ve grasped some aspects, or at least found ways to make them somewhat comprehensible. Join me on this journey, in my unconventional, quirky, sometimes childlike, and as sincere as possible manner. Let’s initiate a dialogue. Happy World Mental Health Day.”
Presently, Ira’s focus is on achieving happiness alongside her partner, Nupur Shikhare. The couple got engaged last year. Additionally, she recently launched the Agastu Foundation, an initiative dedicated to offering mental health support to individuals. Ira has a strong determination to contribute to this cause in the future.