I cannot sing, dance or act; what else would I be but a talk show host.
—David Letterman, who was a talk show host for 33 years
Aamir can sing, he can dance though it is not his forte and he sure can act. And yet, he became a talk show host. In 2012, when a lot of actors were hosting game shows on television, Aamir anchored Satyamev Jayate, a show that discussed pertinent issues and made a lot of people uncomfortable. He laughed, he cried and he even got angry during the show. From a superstar, he became an ordinary citizen who cared about issues plaguing our country, be it female foeticide or drought that poses a serious threat, especially in an agrarian state like Maharashtra.
In 2016, Aamir, along with wife, Kiran Rao, started Paani Foundation to make Maharashtra a drought-free state. “It is Aamir and Satyajeet Bhatkal’s [director of Satyamev Jayate] brainchild. Aamir is, on an emotional level, very committed to Paani Foundation and considers it the most important work of his life,” says Rao. “He is tackling it on the ground and teaching the skill and science of watershed management through guidance, training and advice to villagers of 30 taluks in Maharashtra. He has also involved the private sector to tackle gaps in the water issue. This can be easily replicated in other states.”
What kind of a superstar does that? Surely not someone who is merely looking for publicity. He may have started his film career as a lover boy, but in the past decade, Aamir has been carefully picking films that contain a powerful social message. Take his latest hit, Dangal, for instance. The film took on stereotypes and created a patriotic fervour. His 2006 film Rang De Basanti inspired the youth to question all that is wrong in our nation.
He faced a lot of brickbats in 2015 for expressing his fear and anxiety over the growing intolerance in India. But he is not new to such personal attacks. In 2006, when Aamir took up the cause of people displaced by the Narmada Valley Project, a lot of people questioned his intentions. Some even called it a publicity stunt because his film Fanaa was set to release around that time. But it didn’t matter to him.
Aamir has a keen sense of right and wrong without being judgmental, says his cousin Nuzhat Khan. Even while growing up, helping others came naturally to him. Nuzhat recalls an incident from Aamir’s childhood, which gives an insight into the actor’s mind. One day, they were watching construction work going on near their place. A labourer’s child was playing nearby without a care in the world. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, a labourer kicked him. Horrified and indignant, Aamir and Nuzhat sat there plotting revenge, but finally they decided to give the child one of Nuzhat’s dolls to make him happy. “We didn’t know what else we could do, so I picked a doll and we climbed the compound wall and sneaked in, afraid of the labourers, and put the doll as close to the child as possible and ran back,” says Nuzhat, who is the daughter of producer Nasir Khan and mother of actor Imran Khan. “Hesitant at first, the child finally took the doll and we were so happy. We thought we had done something great.”
Beyond borders: As UNICEF’s goodwill ambassador, he visited Bhutan last year to create awareness on malnutrition
Aamir confided in Nuzhat about his secret desire to become an actor. He wrote a letter to her while she was in America saying he wanted to be an actor. And she wrote back saying: “FOR GOD’S SAKE”.
One of the most sought-after actors in the industry today, Aamir still makes time for reading. He has read the Mahabharat and Arthashastra. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole are two of his all-time favourite books. He is also fond of works by Amitav Ghosh and Harry Crews. “Aamir’s bathroom resembles a library; he has more books than he has clothes or shoes,” says A.R. Murugadoss, who directed him in Ghajini. Aamir’s favourite author is Ismat Chughtai and he really enjoyed her short story Gharwali. His favourite poet, Aamir says, is Sahir sahab (Sahir Ludhianvi).
Apart from reading, Aamir enjoys learning new things. He speaks four languages; English, Urdu, Hindi and Marathi.
While indoors, he enjoys a game of chess and is known to solve the Rubik’s cube in under a minute. “Catan is a strategy board game that he absolutely loves, so much so that he has taught the game to most people he knows and he even organises Catan tournaments at home,” says director Kunal Kohli, who made Fanaa with him. “Aamir is very competitive and hates losing. He plays only to win; he will not even let his own children win.”
Aamir equally loves the outdoors. Though his favourite outdoor sport is tennis—he used to play at the state level—he has also done “rock climbing”, “mountain biking” and “tried to learn surfing”. “Aamir enjoys skiing and is actually very good at it,” says R. Madhavan, who acted with him in Rang De Basanti and 3 Idiots.
“My kids, Junaid and Ira, had gone skiing with their mother [ex-wife Reena Dutta, in Canada] and they came back and told me that I simply had to try it,” says Aamir. “So next year, we planned a holiday and the three of us went skiing there. I spent half an hour on the bunny hill. I was on the green slope the first day and then went on to the blue slope and finally within the first four days, I did my first black, [which] is really steep. I picked it up really fast. You’re challenging yourself against the elements.”
Aamir can apply brakes on anything whenever he wants to. “Aamir can be a chain smoker and stop tomorrow. He can go on a binge drinking spree and then suddenly stop, and he can do workouts for many hours a day, then suddenly stop. He has this ability to start and stop at will,” says John Mathew Matthan, who directed him in Sarfarosh.
For Ghajini, Aamir had initially suggested that Murugadoss sign Salman Khan instead of him. “Whatever he likes, the audience will like; his taste connects 100 per cent with the audiences,” says Murugadoss.
Javed Akhtar calls him “khara sona [pure gold]”. “What he has done and is doing are totally unprecedented,” says Akhtar. “Making a film like Taare Zameen Par or Dangal needs conviction. One requires a very sensible, confident man, who can put his money where his mouth is.”
Aamir is, undoubtedly, one of the most versatile actors today. “Emotional scenes come more naturally to him; light, romantic scenes are difficult for him,” says Mansoor Khan, Aamir’s cousin and director of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which incidentally was Aamir’s debut film.
Dream come true: With Amitabh Bachchan. They are going to act together for the first time in Thugs of Hindostan
On sets, Aamir is a straightfaced prankster and extremely unpredictable. After quickly learning to handle baby snakes for the 1990 film Tum Mere Ho, Aamir chased co-star Juhi Chawla with a snake one day. “I ran around the entire Filmistan studio like a frightened chicken,” recalls Juhi, who has acted with Aamir in more than five films. After wrapping up the shooting of Ghajini, Aamir walked up to Murugadoss and said, “you should be Ghajini” and personally gave him a haircut.
Aamir never distinguishes between an ad or a film or a social project. “When he is there, he gives his 100 per cent,” says lyricist Prasoon Joshi. When he was shooting for Satyamev Jayate, Aamir didn’t do anything else. “He also stopped doing advertisements because he was on national TV doing a show and he didn’t want to deviate from it or create an influence in any other way,” says lyricist Swanand Kirkire, who wrote the song ‘O Ri Chiraiya’ for the episode on female foeticide.
For his upcoming film, Secret Superstar, in which he is playing a cameo, Aamir learnt some difficult dance moves for a song choreographed by his Dangal co-star Sanya Malhotra. “He is just non-stop and can beat me hollow when it comes to energy,” says Advait Chandan, who is making his directorial debut with Secret Superstar.
Aamir is super charged about his next full-fledged film, Thugs of Hindostan. He will be acting alongside Amitabh Bachchan. “It is the first time that I’m working with Amitabh Bachchan, which I’m most excited about,” says Aamir. “It is a big action adventure film, and I really love the role that has been offered to me.”
The media calls him a ‘reclusive genius’. Juhi describes him beautifully: “Do your work in silence and let your success be the noise. That is Aamir.”
