Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao down with swine flu; Shah Rukh Khan steps in at Water Cup event

August 7, 2017 - 10:47 AM IST

Superstar Aamir Khan who has been having a golden run at the box office has hit a roadblock. The 52-year-old superstar, along with his wife Kiran Rao, has been diagnosed with swine flu and is holed up in their residence. According to reports, both were suffering from high fever from last week and were diagnosed with swine flu on Saturday. Incidentally despite their sickness, they attended the trailer launch of their production Secret Superstar on Wednesday August 2. The film features Aamir Khan in a supporting role.

Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao down with swine flu; Shah Rukh Khan steps in at Water Cup event

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao both were scheduled to go to Pune yesterday for a ‘Water Cup’ event organized by their NGO Paani Foundation for the cause of water conservation. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also a part of it. Obviously, Aamir Khan couldn’t make it as the disease is highly contagious and home isolation is the most effective way of containing the disease. The actor and his wife however spoke to the attendees of the event via video conferencing. Aamir Khan said, “It’s a very happy occasion. But both I and Kiran are sad. After working hard so much on this project for a year, when the time came to celebrate with you all, we have fallen sick. The disease that we have contracted is H1N1, which spreads very fast, if we come in contact with people. It is popularly known as swine flu. As a result, we have to be in this house for the next one week and it’s also the reason why we couldn’t come there.”

Aamir Khan Kiran Rao

However, Aamir Khan ensured that the audience and others got a reason to be happy. The superstar requested fellow actor Shah Rukh Khan to attend the event in his place. SRK readily agreed and he was seen sharing the dais with Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries. Shah Rukh Khan seemed happy attending the event. He later tweeted, “Thx @aamir_khan & Kiran for giving me the honour to stand in for u. @dev_fadnavis ur concern for farmers is touching.”

Swine flu was first identified in April 2009 and it caused pandemonium in India in August the same year after the death of a Pune resident. In 2017, it has been circulating since the beginning of the year and it peaked in July. Nearly 103 cases were detected in July alone. Incidentally, BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officials weren’t informed about Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao’s swine flu diagnosis, which is mandatory for this disease.

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao aren’t the first Bollywood celebrities to be hit by this disease. Sonam Kapoor was one of the first celebrities to contract the disease in February 2015, when she was shooting for Sooraj Barjatya’s Salman Khan-starrer Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in Gujarat. During the same time, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and journalist wife Anupama Chopra too were down with swine flu. In March 2015, it was the turn of Bhushan Kumar’s wife Divya Khosla Kumar and their son Ruhaan to be diagnosed with swine flu.