'Made that mistake with Ek Din': Junaid reveals why he won't discuss future scripts with father Aamir Khan

Junaid Khan has candidly spoken about the box office failure of Ek Din, admitting that the film “did not connect” with a majority of audiences despite the team’s hopes riding high on the romantic drama.

In a recent interview, Junaid also revealed that his father, Aamir Khan, took the film’s disappointing performance “very personally” and is still struggling to come to terms with it.

‘The film has not done well’

Reflecting on the response to Ek Din, Junaid admitted that while some viewers appreciated the film, it ultimately failed to find wider acceptance.

“We were hopeful. But I guess… It didn’t do well. It happens sometimes. It’s a film that I really liked, I really enjoyed. I think we all really liked and enjoyed it, and I guess… a lot of people did really like it, but I guess most people didn’t like it. That happens sometimes,” he said during a conversation on journalist Vickey Lalwani’s YouTube channel.

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The romantic drama, which also starred Sai Pallavi in her Hindi film debut, released on May 1 but struggled commercially despite backing from Aamir Khan Productions. Directed by Sunil Pandey, the film was adapted from the 2016 Thai film One Day.

Aamir Khan is ‘still hopeful’

Junaid further revealed that Aamir Khan was deeply affected by the film’s failure. “He is still moping,” Junaid said, adding that his father tends to take failures personally whenever he strongly believes in a project.

According to the actor, even decades of experience in the industry have not changed Aamir’s emotional investment in cinema. He said, “He is still hopeful. Yeah, 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.”

Why Junaid no longer shows scripts to Aamir Khan

Interestingly, Junaid also admitted that the experience has changed how he approaches projects with his father going forward. He revealed that he no longer wants Aamir Khan to become creatively involved in his film choices after what happened with Ek Din.

Junaid explained that showing the script to Aamir eventually led to the superstar producing the film, something he now views as a “mistake” because he wants to carve his own path independently.

He said, “I made that mistake with Ek Din.” He recalled how the script of Ek Din was originally supposed to be backed by the director of Maharaj, Siddharth P Malhotra. However, Junaid approached Aamir, which changed the course of the project.

“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. And so 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.”

He also pointed out that Aamir Khan chooses projects extremely selectively now and may only do “one film in five years”.

Junaid’s early Bollywood journey remains mixed

While Junaid received appreciation for his debut performance in Maharaj, his theatrical releases since then, including Loveyapa and Ek Din, have struggled at the box office.

Still, many viewers and critics praised the sincerity of Ek Din, even though the film failed commercially.

Junaid is reportedly set to appear next in the upcoming third instalment of the Ragini MMS franchise opposite Tamannaah Bhatia.