Aamir Khan chatted on Film Caf on the BBC Asian Network last week. Excerpts from the hour-long chat transcript of Aamir's chat-athon with his worldwide fans:
Aamir Khan
Message for Indian youth
The biggest responsibility of the Indian youth today is to get involved in mainstream politics and the administration. Many of us sit back and complain about how things are not right.
Instead of pointing a finger at others, it is important to get up and start correcting what is wrong. The only way to do this is to get involved and if someone feels that there is an area that needs to be improved, he should roll up his sleeves and do it.
On the Golden temple
I visited the Golden Temple for the first time when we shot for RDB and it was amazing. It's one of the most peaceful places I've been to. As you enter the place there's a certain serenity that surrounds you. I really enjoyed being there.
As for the bathing (laughs), well, it was really cold when we were bathing because we were shooting in the month of February. We actually began the shooting of our film at the Golden Temple. The first shot we took, was of our feet entering the water just as you pass the doorway of the temple. The water was cold but it was great!
On doing one film a year
My reason for doing few films is that I can't do more than one film at a time if I'm to maintain the quality that my fans expect. There has been an unusually large gap between DCH and The Rising but that was because of personal reasons. I didn't work for about two years. But other than that, I normally have one release in a year; sometimes two, so I'm paying attention to that. You will probably see a film or two a year from me from now on!
Most satisfying role
I guess the most challenging role was the one in Mangal Pandey because for the first time I was playing a real-life character about whom there is little recorded material or reading literature.
We had to literally imagine what kind of a person he was and create somebody while fulfilling the responsibility of portraying a famous real-life character. So, for me, that was a sticky path to tread on.
Hollywood or Bollywood
I've been offered a whole lot of different films from different countries and for me the criteria for selecting a film remains the same - the script has to move me, I have to feel moved by the director's vision and I have to like the producer. If all this satisfies me, I will do a film, no matter which part of the world it's being made in. If both the films fulfill the above conditions, I'd ask one of them to hang on till I completed the other film!
On Mansoor Khan
I'm a huge fan of Mansoor's and he's taken a bit of a sabbatical from filmmaking. We are all waiting for him to get back and make a film! I've enjoyed working with him and I think he's of the most talented directors I've worked with! So I hope it happens soon.
Planning to direct
I haven't directed a film yet, and at some point I would like to. I'm not sure when. I have produced Lagaan and would like to go ahead. In fact, I have found a nice story, which I'm going to be working on with the writer. Sometime later this year, we should make the film.
Working with Shah Rukh
I would love to. I think SRK is a huge star and I would love to do a film with him, but nothing suitable has come along. RDB is a multi-starrer; so it's not that I'm averse to doing multi-starrers!
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