Imran Khan (actor) - Early Life and Background

Early Life and Background

Imran Khan was born Imran Pal on 13 January 1983 in Madison, Wisconsin, United States to Anil Pal (a software engineer) and Nuzhat Khan (a psychologist). He is the nephew of actor Aamir Khan and director Mansoor Khan, and the grandson of director and producer Nasir Hussain. Khan is of Hindu Bengali descent on his father's side, and on his mother's side he is a Muslim.

Khan and his mother moved to Mumbai, India after his parents divorced. He appeared in the films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992) as a child artist, both times playing the role of a young Aamir Khan. Khan was educated at Bombay Scottish School, where he developed a bad stammer due to corporal punishments such as caning. According to Khan, his grades fell and his academic career went into a "strong decline" due to his inability to cope with his environment; he became nervous and developed facial tics. As a result, his parents transferred him to Blue Mountain School (a boarding school) in Coonoor. Khan described his experience there as "phenomenal"; when the principal left to start his own school, he and several other students followed him to a Gurukul in the jungles of Ooty. He said, "I went there at the age of 11 and spent around five years there. It was a small school on a farm with no electricity. We used traditional lamps, and for water we would go to a nearby stream to bathe and wash our clothes. We planted our own vegetables to grow our food." Khan later admitted that frequently changing schools made him independent but also a loner.

Khan then moved to Sunnyvale, California, where he lived with his father and attended Fremont High School. Upon graduation he aspired to become a film director, and went to Los Angeles to pursue a degree in filmmaking at the Los Angeles branch of the New York Film Academy. Studying direction, writing and cinematography, Khan was inspired by writer Roald Dahl. After receiving his degree, he ventured into market research and advertising. Khan eventually returned to Mumbai and trained to become an actor at Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting institute. He began networking and met writer-director Abbas Tyrewala, who offered him the lead role in his film. After producer Jhamu Sugandh experienced financial difficulties they offered the script to Aamir Khan, who agreed to finance the film. Khan auditioned for the role before being signed for the film.