Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay said she admires superstar Aamir Khan’s work and compared him to Oprah Winfrey.
“I have seen more of Aamir Khan’s work. I have been learning about huge stars like Big B [Amitabh Bachchan] and a number of stars that people know here. And there in America people don’t know many [Indian] stars,” she said.
“I love him [Aamir]. He has a magnetic quality, the activism and social justice work that he does is amazing. Also, his television show Satyamev Jayate is great,” she said.
DuVernay then compared him to the popular American actress-producer-talk show host. “He [Khan] is like Oprah Winfrey. Upfront. [She] used to raise awareness of several issues on the show. So I respect all those who work in that way. I respect anyone who does that,” DuVernay said.
The director was in Mumbai as part of the International Jury at the 17th MAMI film festival. She also spoke at a panel discussion on Women In Films with Vidya Balan, Kangana Ranuat, Shabana Azmi and Kiran Rao.
“I got to know Vidya here. I hope to stay in touch with her. I [would like to be friends] and also hopefully work with her one day,” she said.
