Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan says he competes with himself but is inspired by the work of his colleagues.
“I think competing is a strange word. I am trying to better myself. As a creative person, as an artist I am trying to improve myself. I am trying to do better as a creative person and not from business point of view,” Khan said in Mumbai on Thursday. “It doesn’t mean I don’t consider Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan as great actors, they are wonderful. Not just them, we have some great actors like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Hrithik Roshan...
“When I saw Sultan, Dabangg I loved it... When I saw Munnabhai, I liked Sanju [Sanjay Dutt]. I feel happy when I see my colleagues doing great work... When I see work of Ranveer [Singh] or Ranbir [Kapoor] I feel inspired.”
But the actor says he was deeply touched when veteran actor Rishi Kapoor compared his work to his (Kapoor’s) father’s, the legendary Raj Kapoor.
“The one response that really touched me was Rishi Kapoor ji’s tweet. He gave me the biggest compliment that I could imagine by calling me the Raj Kapoor of today,” said the 51-year-old actor. “I was over the moon, I was thrilled and really happy. I thanked him. I can’t compare myself to Raj Kapoor — no way! Considering this thought came to Rishi ji, who is Raj Kapoor’s son, means a lot to me.”
His superstar friend Salman Khan’s tweet about his performance in Dangal however raised a few eyebrows, but only because it can be confusing, he says.
“Salman’s tweet — ‘I love you personally but hate you professionally’... The fact [is] there is lot of love in it and that is a big compliment as it is coming from my colleague. I don’t think there is an iota of hate in his tweet... I can feel that. When we do a film we do it with belief in it. We don’t know how the film will do after its release or how many people will it touch,” he said.
Khan agreed that the recent demonetisation India did affect movie watching in India, especially in smaller towns. While films like Rock On 2 and Force 2 were affected, collections to Khan’s film Dangal, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, remained unaffected.
“We can’t say there is no effect of demonetisation. But I am overwhelmed with the response for the film [Dangal]. It feels good to see the love and warmth for the people,” said the Dhoom 3 actor. “As an actor the films that I have seen — Pyasa, Teesri Manzil, Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Do Aankhen Bara Haath — I don’t know the collection of these films. I am not interested in numbers.”
Yet, despite breaking record after record at the box offic, the PK star says he isn’t here to set benchmark but only “to do films that make me happy”.
Reacting to veteran Hollywood actress Meryl Streep’s comment on US President-elect Donald Trump, Khan says everyone has freedom to say things in a democratic country. Streep, a supporter of Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton, slammed Trump while accepting the Cecil B DeMille Award at the Golden Globe awards.
“I think how much freedom we have is dependent on us. I feel in India or abroad or anywhere let alone creative person, everyone has a right to say things in a democratic country and people also have the right not to agree to that opinion,” said Khan. “I think in America some people would agree with Meryl Streep and some people wouldn’t agree.”
But Khan feels everyone has responsibility towards making a better society, whether they are a celebrity or not.
“I think everyone should do their bit... We can’t expect celebrities alone to take up causes and work towards it. Everyone has a role in society,” he said.
