Imran Khan, who is now preparing to make a comeback in films, recently opened up in a candid interview, revealing that he spent a significant portion of his formative years in a gurukul. He shared that as a teenager, he would chop firewood and grow his own food. Imran also stated that his personality cannot be bound to just doing movies.

Imran recalls growing up in a gurukul

In an interview with Film Companion, when Anupama Chopra asked him if he regretted taking a break from the industry, Imran spoke at length about how his upbringing taught him that life was bigger than acting. Imran further stated that his personality is not limited to his films and that he has lived a life and had experiences far beyond the confines of show business. He described his unusual upbringing, which included frequent moves between schools, cities, and countries.

"I’ve been to a number of very unorthodox non-traditional schools. I spent some of my formative years, aged 11 to 15, in a gurukul literally without electricity. We lit kerosene lamps every night that’s how we had light. We farmed, we grew our own food, we got water from a stream, we chopped firewood. As such, I have always had the sense that life is kind of bigger," he shared.

Imran Khan on having financial security for being able to afford to quit

Imran Khan also shared what gave him the confidence to quit films and explore different paths. He stated that he was fortunate enough to have the financial security. The actor said, “Effectively I spent my 20s, working and building and setting up a career. In my 30s, that ended up not being the thing that I felt like focusing on. Life took me in another direction.”

He added that in recent years, he has been able to focus on himself. He concluded by saying, “Effectively these past 10 years I have spent kind of grappling with the larger questions of who am I, what do I want to do, what do I want to be. A series of life circumstances led me to a place where I was not getting the fulfillment.”