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Saturday, March 15, 2008

Aamiriaana


Aamir Khan has always been distinctive. Even his harshest critics would have to agree on that for sure. He had always had a perfect Mr Clean image, till he ruffled some feathers in big bad Bollywood, and seemingly the affected or aggrieved lot included some Bid Daddies of the industry who found it extremely discomforting to be reminded of their mediocrity. The tabloids started pointing their guns at Aamir, only for their selfish interest of raking controversies, as we all know that the tabloids survive with their regular feed of filmy gossip, while Mr Aamir Khan did not oblige the gossip-mongers. It was in the latter half of the nineties that things took a major turn with the leading dailies and media-houses trying to outdo one another with a celebration of mediocrity in all fields, and with the turn of the century we also witnessed the Page3 culture and its widest ramifications in electronic and print media. Aamir Khan would more often than not be baited by the media on inconsequential matters. Like his endorsing of Coke, the cola that was accused of crossing toxicity limits; or the alleged affair with Jessica Hines, the British film journalist................ the list went on.

A man of Aamir's integrity did not play to the galleries. But he started courting controversies - as if! His personal life was shattered, his marriage to Reena, his childhood sweetheart, collapsed. Professionally, we did see him chart new history, reach new peaks. Post-Rang De Basanti, his stature was supposedly a threat to the tabloidwallahs whom he avoided like plague. He asked to be allowed to keep his private life private. Is it too much to ask for a celebrity? I wonder.

As if turning the spotlight on his second marriage (he married his one-time assistant, Kiran Rao) or on his kids was not enough. There was a political backlash from the ultra-reactionaries of Indian politics, who bayed for his blood! His crime: He spoke in favour of the distressed and the dispossessed, and made an exhibition of solidarity for the underprivileged, cutting across political doctrines or narrow selfish divides! Attempts were made with great gusto to make the Aamir Khan starrers like 'Fanaa' and 'Taare Zameen Par' bite the dust....... but such attempts were unsuccessful! Aamir's blog that helps him connect with his audience, minus any intemediaries, have also come under the scanner very often. Just because he is candid, and does not bend backwards to pressurising of any kind, and that he stands by his convictions and righteous beliefs.

Now the overblown spat between ShahRukh Khan and Aamir is has become the latest hot issue to be banked upon by the media. Aamir Khan may be best known as Bollywood's Mr Perfectionist but of late he has been given the tag of Mr Competitive. And it all started with a rather jovial quote: "Well what can I say Shah Rukh always likes to be in the second position," Aamir has been quoted saying. Thereafter, when asked if he had a chance to interview Shah Rukh Khan what will his first question be, Aamir reportedly threw back, "Thats a tricky question. I would ask Shah Rukh how does it feel to be second after Aamir?" Is it really a grave comment on his fellow actor's calibre? I won't say so. I am sure most will agree with me on that. He would never stoopp so low to downplay others' merits. He even did not do it to his detractors, why would he do it to ShahRukh, who has been 'a good friend'?

Maybe the wind would soon blow over. Egos are as large in Bollywood as the lavish multi-crore productions themselves. And the egos are bruised too often - sometimes the burns and the bruises are carried to the grave, but mostly they heal too soon with just a clarification or two........ and as a true admirer of Aamir, I hope for the latter. Earnestly.

I am praying for the triumph of the winsome hero! Aamiriaana will surely be the winner all the way!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful post. I am really glad that you took up the issue of SRK-Aamir spat. It is surely being given an undesired focus in the media. Maybe the hoo- haa will soon die its natural death as it does in Bollywood. But I too am sincerely hoping for the air to be cleared once and for all.

Unknown said...

Aamir Khan was the honoured speaker at the India Today Conclave, 2008, yesterday, and he spoke on 'Entertainment Next'. He rightly exuded the confidence declaring that Indian filmmakers can win over Western audiences if they aim to do so. He insisted that corporate houses entering the world of entertainment should be given time to mature. As an actor-director who has broken barriers and who has continually surprised his fans and the film fraternity by making films on the most unconventional scripts, Aamir needs to be congratulated for showing several others the way. The way to entertain a broad audience base does not mean having to stoop low in terms of sensibility, or to downsize creativity. I am definite that Aamiriaana is here to stay and will contribute much more for the betterment of Indian cinema.

Arpita said...

Aamir always thinks different..... and he thinks big too! That's why he is a real icon and not a phoney like many others!
Recently he even said that he has dreams of making Mahabharata for the silver screen and that too on a scale larger than that of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. He is sure that our epic has much more scope to enthrall the world than Peter Jackson's trilogy!
Asked about the controversial power jibes, SRK has joked that his wife has warned him if he said anything about Aamir she'd beat him up. She is supposedly an Aamir Khan fan. He has also insisted that Aamir is a dear friend and had he said that SRK was second to him then it's a great compliment. Aamir is an intelligent, intellectual person, admits SRK and said that he himself is more physical and spontaneous.
SRK insisted that he was proud of having learnt a lot from Aamir. One of his biggest desires in life is to do a film with Aamir. I quote SRK: "We should not belittle the importance of Aamir Khan" by unnecessary comparisons. "He is a standalone, one of the nicest gentleman and actors in the country."

Unknown said...

A fantastic post on an actor of a fantastic calibre. Aamir is unnecessarily dragged into controversies, when we all know that he has contributed so much for the cause of healthy cinema in this country. We should all be proud of Aamir's potential and let him prosper for the sake of Hindi cinema to bloom ever more. I believe we haven't yet seen the best of this pint-sized actor who stands taller than his compatriots by his sheer zeal to excel.

abhishek said...

Aamiriaana indeed!!!!!
Who else but Aamir Khan has the guts to hold on to his virtues and his values in a steadfast manner?
Who else has the balls to call a spade a spade?
He is unique. One of his kind. There can be one and only one stalwart like Aamir Khan. And, saying so, I am not suggesting for a moment that his fellow actors or so called superstars or kings or princes have no talent, or that they are lesser actors. But just as there is one Big B, one Dilip Kumar, one Rajanikanth, there is but one man called Aamir Khan who does not need hagiographers to atttach position tags (as Number One or Two or Three) to him. He is and shall always be 'numero uno'.

Unknown said...

Aamir is a cool guy; a real gentleman. It is absolutely overblown a comment of his that has generated fodder for gossip. And this is not the first time that such a thing has happened as this blogger has rightly pointed out. I wish him all the best, and to his serious endeavours in the world of cinema.

Unknown said...

Aamir Khan is the thinking man's idol for sure! Cool post!!!!! More power to Aamir Khan and such gutsy folks!

Unknown said...

Aamir Khan sure has this tendency to attract controversies. I know, he has been under scrutiny yet again after the dig (purported) at SRK, in his blog. But this I want to clarify, as an avid viewer of Aamir's films (though I am not exactly his fan) that the man surely needs some space to breathe easy. We must give him some benefit of doubt at least. He means no harm, has never done so, and all that he has been sincerely pursuing is his dream of making a splash, not just being a flash in the pan, in the big bad world of cinema!