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Aamir not ready to throw his weight

It perhaps takes an Aamir Khan to weigh about a hundred, and yet look gregariously suave and handsome. And perhaps it is only Aamir, who not just dons different on-screen ‘avatars’, but eat, sleep, live the characters the characters he portrays.

Aamir not ready to throw his weight

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao



Gurvinder Singh

It perhaps takes an Aamir Khan to weigh about a hundred, and yet look gregariously suave and handsome. And perhaps it is only Aamir, who not just dons different on-screen ‘avatars’, but eat, sleep, live the characters the characters he portrays. So much so that his wife, Kiran Rao, sitting next to him, has forgotten the real look of Aamir.

“He has been living the life of characters so much in the past 15 years that I cannot remember how the real Aamir actually looks like,” says Kiran. “In fact, it was difficult to find a picture of him for his birthday, in which he is not a film character,” he says. Kiran says that it takes about two-three months for him to get out of the character he plays. And rather rotund Aamir grins, as he is currently ‘living the life’ of Mahavir Phogat, the Haryanvi wrestler he plays in Dangal, the shooting for which is going to start in a few Ludhiana villages.

Sharing his emotional proximity with the characters he plays, Aamir says, “In fact, I get so close to the character I play that it becomes my life during the film. So whether it was DJ of Rang De Basanti, Bhuvan of Lagaan, Rancho of 3 Idiots or Nikumbh sir of Taare Zameen Par, I feel very close to them.”

He would get into a character, even if it requires a lot of hard work. “I have put on 30 kg for this role in the past six months. I have never gained so much weight and never been so fat. I would again have to lose weight in the next five months, for the same character as he portrays different time frames from the life of the character,” says Mr Perfectionist.

Ask him about being Mr Perfectionist, and he says, “That image is totally wrong. I am not a perfectionist, I just like to work with all my heart and passion. In fact, there is nothing like perfection. Everyone has their weaknesses and strengths. Only the Almighty is perfect. My philosophy is to enjoy the work I do. Success in any case is not in your hands,” he says.

Speaking about the tone of Dangal, he says this one is going to be an emotionally humorous movie with a message. Just like the films of Raju Hirani, it is a very emotional film with many layers to it, but beneath the upper layer of humour lie certain realities of life and the message. Sakshi Tanwar is playing his wife in the film.

Aamir hopes that wrestling would get another fillip after the movie. “There is a stereotype that wrestlers lack grey matter, but while doing this film, I realised that wrestlers in fact are sharp, as they have to be fast to think and react at an ‘explosive speed’ to beat the opponent without harming them. Wrestling is a game of brain. In other sports such as boxing, players physically assault opponents, but in wrestling, your mental and physical agility in getting better of the other player is tested,” he says.

Speaking about the differences in the salaries of male and female actors, that have hit the headlines of late, he says as a producer, it doesn’t really matter whether a person is a male or a female. “The pay cheques are generally based on how many people that person can bring in to the cinema. Saleem Jaffar, the writer, used to draw people to cinema halls, and was highest paid. I don’t think producer is thinking on the lines of gender, but rather bigger star,” he says.

As a producer, Kiran says, “We believe that equal work should be paid equally. We believe women should also earn the same amount for the same job. So, it should not make a difference whether one is a woman costume designer, director of photography and the like. One should be paid according to the industry standard.”

About award ceremonies, the couple believes that there should be a body that recognises excellence. “There is nothing bigger for a creative person than appreciation for his work. So ultimately, a creative person wants appreciation. But if I don’t believe in an organisation or the platform, then it has no meaning. “We should in fact have a body that recognises excellence in cinema in the true sense,” he says.

“Right now the awards at several award ceremonies don’t recognise excellence in cinema. It would be great if there are awards on the lines of The Academy Awards of Hollywood, or awards from an academy of film-making fraternity that understands cinema,” chips in Kiran.

Aamir would like to make a film on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Asked if their son Azad Rao Khan’s name was inspired after Maulana Azad, Kiran said that Maulana Azad was the great grand uncle of Aamir, and she always liked the name Azad. Aamir adds that Maulana Azad was not only a great thinker and orator, but his teachings are relevant even today.

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