Bollywood's Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao divorce after 15 years - BBC News

Kiran Rao (left) and Aamir Khan. Photo: March 2019

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and producer-director Kiran Rao have announced that they are separating after 15 years of marriage.

In a statement, they said they would raise their son together and still work on joint projects.

"In these 15 beautiful years together we have shared a lifetime of experiences, joy and laughter," the statement said.

Khan, 56, and Rao, 47, first met in 2001, and married four years later.

They said they wanted to "begin a new chapter in our lives - no longer as husband and wife, but as co-parents and family for each other".

They added that their relationship had "only grown in trust, respect and love".

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During his career spanning nearly five decades, Khan has established himself as one of the most popular Bollywood actors, with a large following in India and abroad, especially in China.

In 2015, Khan, a Muslim, made headlines for saying there was a growing "intolerance" in India.

He drew criticism from the ruling BJP party but Khan said that neither he nor Rao, a Hindu, had any intention of leaving the country

He said that the people who had called him "anti-national" and shouted "obscenities at me for speaking my heart out, it saddens me to say you are only proving my point".

Khan had previously been married to Reena Dutta, with whom he has two children.