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Imran Khan opens up on his Bollywood comeback, admitting a meme saying “Life was good when this guy was doing rom-coms” and fans’ nostalgia inspired him.
Imran Khan reveals how online fandom played a pivotal role in his Bollywood comeback. “I posted on Threads but nobody saw it.
Nearly a decade has passed since audiences last saw Imran Khan on the big screen in Katti Batti (2015). Once celebrated as the boy-next-door who charmed a generation with his debut in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008), Imran quietly stepped away from films, leaving fans reminiscing about his effortless rom-coms. Over the years, his absence only made hearts grow fonder, with memes and nostalgic posts flooding social media. Now, the actor has finally opened up about what sparked his much-awaited return.
In a candid conversation with Planet Bollywood, Imran explained why he needed time away from films and how that period of pause eventually gave way to a creative rebirth. “Any kind of creative person, whether you are a poet, sculptor or musician, has to also live a life. That is where the material comes from. That is where the thoughts and ideas come from. You need to live life and gather experiences. All of those experiences will then seed into your craft and then, into your art,” he shared.
For Imran, stepping back was less about quitting and more about finding the fire again. “I guess I had to take a certain amount of time, go through a journey and find a place where I felt I had an understanding of how I want to engage creatively. There should be that fire within me that pushes me towards doing something. I now have something inside that I want to share and communicate. I took as long as it took. In the past one year, I started feeling that itch. I felt let’s do something creative.”
Interestingly, Imran admitted that it was the internet’s nostalgia wave around him that accelerated this journey. He described how fans’ memes and posts—often shared by his own friends—slowly began to stir something in him. “A major part of the journey was significantly accelerated by the online fan community. Over the past year, people were making these memes. Once in a while, my friends would send me screenshots. I was not active on any of the social media accounts, but my friends would show me all these memes and posts. I remember seeing this one post which had a collage comprising posters of my films and featured text which said, ‘Life was good when this guy was doing rom-coms’.”
That, he said, became impossible to ignore. “As I started to read, hear and perceive more of those, I started feeling that many people out there are reaching out to me and at some point, I started feeling that if I didn’t acknowledge them and say ‘I hear you’, it would be very rude of me. Up until that point, things were one-sided. People were making memes and writing down comments. I felt it was rude of me to ignore it or not acknowledge it. I felt compelled to stick my head out and say, ‘Hi, guys! I hear you’.”
And so, with a mix of humour and humility, Imran decided to break his silence on social media. “I made this post first on Thread but nobody goes on Threads, so nobody saw it (laughs). I took a screenshot of that Thread post and shared it on Instagram. Instagram exploded and people started messaging me. It was very much a case of online fandom reaching out to me. People started saying, ‘Where are you? We want to see you’. A major reason behind my decision to come back to the movies was the response to that.”
For fans who have long waited, Imran’s return marks not just the comeback of a beloved star but also the rekindling of a unique voice in Hindi cinema—one that understands the power of vulnerability, nostalgia, and connection.
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun…Read More
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun… Read More
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