‘FILM-MAKING IS DIFFICULT’
Aamir Khan says he hears a script “as if he were the audience”, and if it excites, touches or moves him, then he wants to be part of it
With the highest-ever Bollywood blockbuster (Dangal; 2016) and several other blockbusters such as 3 Idiots (2009), Dhoom:3 (2013) and PK (2014), among others, under his belt, Aamir Khan is definitely a force to reckon with at the box office. While trade analysts feel that his success is a result of the right mix of stardom and quality cinema, the superstar insists he has “never thought of it from this point of view”.
“When I’m making a film, I am not trying to balance anything. I am only doing what the script requires me to do and I try to be honest to it. I want to justify the script that excites me. In Dangal, like any other film, I was hoping that the film is above me and not vice versa. I don’t ever want to be above the film. I want to be part of a film like every other actor,” he says.
Aamir’s choice of cinema has been admired by many. In fact, Saif Ali Khan told HT Café that Aamir’s choice of films does “more than half the job”. “Choosing a film is actually one of the most important steps for an actor, because that’s the first step he or she takes. He isn’t writing the script or developing the screenplay. When the script comes to you, you decide whether you want to be a part of it or not,” says Aamir.
The Ghajini (2008) actor adds that at the end of the day, he can only choose what “excites” him. “Ultimately, film-making is difficult. Sometimes, we can go wrong, but I would still want to follow my own creative instinct, and do films that excite me. When I hear a script, I pretend to be the audience at that time. If it excites, touches or moves me, then I want to be part of it.”
Dangal saw Aamir sharescreen space with a number of other actors. In fact, many felt that he let his co-stars take centre stage. “It’s not like I am holding myself back, or trying to not be in the forefront to give other people an opportunity. I am just being honest to what the script is and what is required of me. I am doing that with full force. So, it’s not like I am on the ‘back foot’,” he says.
Choosing a film is actually one of the most important steps for an actor, because that’s the first step he or she takes. AAMIR KHAN, ACTOR
When other actors are with me, I am not trying to think who has got the longer or shorter role. AAMIR KHAN, ACTOR
Aamir Khan, who insists that he is always on the “front foot”, believes that he is only doing “what is required of him”. “I don’t want to do anything more than that. Film-making involves teamwork, so when other actors are with me, I am not trying to think who has got the longer or shorter role. The length of the role is never important. The film is more important than all of us.”
Aamir’s movies been hits at the box office, and they’ve also been rich in content. He says, “All these films came from the mind of some writer, and then have been made by a director.” He adds that all his choices have been “risky” and “impractical”. “Dangal (2016), has no romance. It’s a family story about a father and his daughters. I have always had unusual films,” says the actor, who will next be seen in Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Thugs of Hindostan, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan. Vijay directed Aamir in Dhoom 3 (2013) as well.