He's the man with the Midas touch. And he wears this thorny crown with aplomb. For an actor who morphs an ordinary script with his behind-the-camera virtuosity, he wears his success with total belief in self, his talent and his audience. It's definitely a bone of contention among his peers, no doubt, but even they would reluctantly agree that Aamir Khan is truly immortal in Bollywood.
Whether it's mushy romances (Fanaa) or poignant tales (Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti) or mindless thrillers (Ghajini), he's a lone Bollywood crusader who consistently charms his way to the box-office, flooring the critics and the viewers alike along the way. It's this unbridled zeal to create magic that merits him the title of the Bollywood pied piper.
But what makes his appeal stronger is the fact that the mighty Khan is unwilling to take his magical touch for granted. "I'd like to believe that (in the power) but I won't depend on it," says Khan. And that's exactly what makes his enigma even more endearing. That he treats each film as if it were his first, still experiencing butterflies in his stomach before every release. "I think it's because I care about my work and I care about people's reaction."
With so much riding on him, it's not surprising that Khan is under immense pressure all the time. "Yes, it makes me feel nervous, but it also makes me feel good. It indicates that my previous work is appreciated. However, I don't feel this pressure when I am selecting a script because at that time I'm not thinking about the expectations. Instead, I'm concentrating on the film's merit."
Despite the adulation, it's commendable how Khan remains grounded and credits his viewers with a certain calibre, working diligently towards satisfying their creative cravings. "I'm aware that when people come to the movies, they don't want to be educated. They'll go to a college for that. They want to be told a story, want to be entertained."
And he takes this need to connect with his audience very seriously. While his detractors might argue that his over-the-top marketing gimmicks play an important role in his success, he thinks the intense legwork (read marketing) is an integral part of the creative process. After parading around town as a barber for Ghajini and travelling undercover across India for 3 Idiots, he's now taking Peepli Live around the globe. But at no point does the artist feel that the promotions dilute the essence of good cinema.
"Cinema is a mass medium. It's about storytelling. And if you are excited about the story, you'll instinctively reach out to your audience." He elucidates the concept further, hypothetically.
"Imagine you are at a party and you're able to grab everyone's attention with an interesting tale. You ask people: ‘Listen. Stop talking. Turn off the music.' It's because you are emotionally connected to it. And that effort is what marketing is about. So it'd be strange if you keep quiet despite being excited about your story."
Khan admits that marketing strategies do slip if they are done dishonestly. "It's like you start out claiming it's a romantic tale but end up narrating a horror story."
A storyteller of epochal magnitude, Khan refuses to be stencilled into an actor with a message. Despite the obvious projections - the political links to MiG crashes in RDB or the issues surrounding dyslexia in TZP or the deplorable status of the Indian education system in 3 Idiots - Khan denies that he attempts to project any social message in his films.
"Ghajini and Fanaa don't have any message. I see myself as an entertainer. That's my core responsibility. By entertainment, I don't mean only jokes and laughs. According to me, TZP is entertaining because it's emotionally engaging. So when I pick a film, whether as an actor, producer or a director, the material should move me. It doesn't matter if it has a social message or not."
His drive is obvious in the way he fleshes out his characters... physically. Whether it's the long-haired moustache for Mangal Pandey or the beefed-up Ghajini look, Khan's lived through his characters. "I like to dive into my work. As much as I can, I live the characters."
With such complete belief in his talent and his audience, the actor has created a trend of sorts after spearheading India's journey to the Oscars with his iconic rustic tale Lagaan (it won a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in 2002). It's an incidence that prompted every film-maker worth his salt to vie for Western recognition. Khan, however, says there's nothing amiss about this trend.
"There's nothing wrong in wanting to reach out to a larger audience. But that desire doesn't exist in me. I'm happy being part of Indian cinema. So I don't start out by saying: ‘OK, now I want to make a film for an American audience.' But even if I do, I don't think it's wrong. Also, Indian cinema, without even attempting to, is engaging people from different parts of the world. As far as I'm concerned, Peepli Live has the potential to engage a wider audience."
Which brings us to his latest creation in the marquee, Peepli Live. An unusual film that defies Bollywood conventions. "Usually we don't make satires. The last one I remember was Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (a satire on corruption). The market tends to view satires with great suspicion. I was aware that it's an unusual film but you know what, I've made a habit of it now (smiles)."
With an all-new cast, barring the mighty Naseeruddin Shah, he's impressed with NDTV journalist Anusha Rizvi's "honest casting". "I think she's found a bunch of really talented, stage actors. And I supported her decision because I thought it was right. Apart from the story, the casting and performances are its strengths."
Recalling the beginning of the Peepli Live journey, Khan narrates how Rizvi first wrote to him while he was shooting for Mangal Pandey. "By the time I heard the script, I was shooting in Delhi for RDB. It took me a while to gather the confidence in her as a director. And once I was sure, we began work."
But, Khan, clarifies that he played his producer's role without interfering with the directorial decisions. "If I wanted to I would've directed it. But I trusted Anusha and wanted her to do the film her way. I've given it my all, so it's as much my film as 3 Idiots. But I wasn't on the sets because, as a producer, that's not my job. But whenever the creative team asked for my guidance, I did oblige."
While Khan has taken an unusual step towards endorsing an untypical satire Peepli Live, he isn't preaching that his contemporaries follow suit. "I don't think it's fair to comment on what others should do. All along, I've done films that excite me. So, whether it's Peepli Live or 3 Idiots, I've done them because it makes me happy."
Now, with Peepli work drawing to a close, Khan is going to concentrate on his wife Kiran Rao's Dhobi Ghaat. "It's a sensitive film about four people and the city of Mumbai. Actually, Mumbai is the fifth character. It's about how their life gets connected." And then there's Delhi Belly, "a mad, English comedy with Imran and a number of actors, mostly first timers". Directorially, however, Khan is yet to find a project, but on the acting front it's going to be Delhi Belly this year. "I'll start looking at scripts after Peepli Live releases."
And with B-towners swarming the virtual world, Khan has also found a slot on the blogging (www.aamirkhan.com) and tweeting circuits. "It's a double-edged sword. It's important to stay connected with your audience but you also have to be aware that the enigma of a star gets diluted. Like the saying: ‘Familiarity breeds contempt'. But that isn't the reason why, three years since its initiation, his blogs are far too few. "When I'm working I'm absorbed in my work. So, when I feel like expressing, only then I do."
Khan's definitely not the run-of-the-mill celebrity, who indulges in glorifying himself. He'd rather invest his time wisely. And apart from films, he's also a passionate social worker (read: Narmada Bachao Andolan). But the actor is quick to note that it's not a celeb's sole responsibility to partake in such causes. "I'm aware that as a celebrity I do bring the spotlight on to something but I voice what I feel as a citizen. I don't think that anyone is exempt from engaging in social work."
Clearly, he's the perfect example to disprove the saying: ‘Jack of all trades, master of none'. He's excelled as an actor, director (TZP) and producer (Lagaan, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na), striking gold in all his endeavours. Clearly, he's a maverick artist, who has the incredible power to create magic out of almost anything. And we're only grateful that he's doing it all for us.
Our favourite Aamir moments
It's an Herculean task to select a few acts from Khan's illustrious cinematic journey because of the sheer volume of his work. Here are a few, over the last ten years, that we believe need special mention.
- Clad in dhoti, Lagaan's Bhuvan won a ticket to the Oscars, a first for commercial Hindi cinema
- Spiky hair, top-of-the range Mercs, Dil Chahta Hai's Akash projected the complexities of friendship
- Large, thick moustache, Mangal Pandey: The Rising helps us revisit the Indian struggle for freedom
- Fun and boisterous, you'd instantly feel connected with the vibrant DJ in Rang De Basanti
- We listen attentively as Taare Zameen Par's Ram Shankar Nikumbh encourages us to accept dyslexic kids
- Sanjay Singhania in Ghajini will stop at nothing until he avenges his fiancée's death
