The actor regrets his comments on the film Black hurt Amitabh Bachchan
Actor Aamir Khan is all set with his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par which releases on December 21. CNN-IBN's Anuradha SenGupta gets chatty with the actor, talking about the change in his image from a 'good-looking' actor to an intellectual one, who surely, ought to be taken seriously
Anuradha SenGupta: With Taare Zameen Par, you turn director. All these years we have heard accusations and charges saying Aamir interferes and second-guesses his directors, and if this is not your planned directorial debut, then how petrified are you?
Aamir Khan: Petrified in what sense? Are you talking about the release of the film?
Anuradha SenGupta: You must know that there are a lot of eyes on this film, not just the ticket buying public, but people you worked in the past with, people who may have things to say because this is finally when you come out of the actor who could direct and become the director.
Aamir Khan: Well, I do know that, but I am not making films for these reasons, so these things don't bother me. I am making a film in which I believe in, and my concern is that have I been able to bring on to celluloid what was on paper. When I look at the film now, I feel I have managed to do that, so I am really happy with it. If I have any concern, it is that how my audience reacts to the film.
Anuradha SenGupta: We are talking as the first phase of Gujarat elections starts. Are you watching closely? Are you interested, because we know what happened with Fanaa because you supported the Narmada Bachao Aandolan. Are you anticipating trouble with Taare Zameen Par?
Aamir Khan: I have no idea and I have not been following the news because I have been very involved in the post-production of my film. So I really have not had the bandwidth to keep in touch with what's happening around the country at this point of time.
Anuradha SenGupta: Is the film releasing in Gujarat? Do you know?
Aamir Khan: As far as I know, it's releasing.
Anuradha SenGupta: So you are not expecting any trouble this time?
Aamir Khan: No, I hope not.
Anuradha SenGupta: Tell me, after the response of this film, are you going to become like Woody Allen, directing yourself a lot?
Aamir Khan: I haven't thought about that. I mean, no. On the face of it, I'd like to say that I would like to direct and I don't want to act in the film I am directing. That's something that I always felt. In this case I did not have a choice. But frankly, I am not comfortable acting and directing in the same film.
Anuradha SenGupta: I was wondering, you do a shot and you go running and play it back and you see it?
Aamir Khan: No, I don't do that. I pretty much go with my instincts. So when I am giving a shot, my instincts tell me whether it is right or wrong and when I have finished with the takes and I think that I have got it, then I go and check once. Fortunately, as an actor, I never depend on the monitor. In my entire career, I have never looked at the monitor.
Anuradha SenGupta: And did you depend on the director?
Aamir Khan: Of course, I do. I have the ability or I would say, I have retained the ability to keep my instinct alive, on how well the shot has gone or how well we have got the moment without having to check the monitor.
Anuradha SenGupta: Did you enjoy this total control, this creative control? Because everywhere else, even if you were the producer, you were having to deal with someone else who you had to convince, or override or whatever. Today, the buck stops with you. Was the freedom exhilarating?
Aamir Khan: I don't think that is the adjective I would use. I was just doing the film and I had the facility to do it the way I wanted to do. Although I was taking all decisions, it was not as if, 'Wow, I am taking all decisions…oh, what great fun'. It's not how I am. When I like a script and I love a script, I am very concerned that, whatever is on paper, should come out on the screen. That, for me, is the primary job of a director. So I am always concerned, 'Have I got it right?'
Anuradha SenGupta: So, you did not enjoy directing yourself?
Aamir Khan: No, I won't say that. It's a different mind space. When you come as an actor on screen, the first thing you do in the morning is you go to your make up room, and you are with the scene and the only person you are interacting with is your director. When he meets you to discuss the scene, you chat with him, and he gives you his ideas of how you should do a scene. You are looking to him for leading a scene and I want to understand, how he wants to do it and how he would like me to do it.
So, that's a certain mind space that you are in as an actor. When you are the director, you physically don't have to go to the make up room. You are at the sets. On the sets, you are interacting with the camera man, you are interacting with your crew and you are trying to get them to do what you want. You also have to interact with all the other actors, who will shoot with you that day and give them all a brief on how to play the scene. And then you go to your make up room to get ready. So you have to be in two places and in two mind spaces at the same time.
Anuradha SenGupta: Till about a certain time in your filmography, you were this superbly talented, great looking film star and very popular. Then suddenly, there was this twist and you became this intellectual film star. You became this perfectionist. These were some adjectives that got tagged on to your name. You became this guy who was the last word in good mainstream cinema. Why do you think this perception happened? There has clearly been a change in perception.
Aamir Khan: I really can't answer this question because I have no idea. I have all along been doing films, which I believe in and which excite me. Some films I am happy with the way they turned out and some films I am not. Some films I have done are not exactly of my sensibility. But I still did what I enjoyed doing. That's what I still continue to do. This perception of me is something, which I am not aware of and it is difficult for me to see myself from the outside.
Anuradha SenGupta: But I thought if there is one actor who could do that, is you?
Aamir Khan: I am not really interested in looking at myself from outside. I am not so sure that's what I want to do. I'd rather just continue to do stuff that I feel like doing. If I try and think as to how I am being perceived, then my actions will get affected by that. I want things to happen organically and I just want to do the work I feel like doing.
Anuradha SenGupta: Do you think it was Lagaan, or the awards ceremonies that you started boycotting. What was it? Because clearly, one part of your film worked, some good films, some ordinary ones, some very run of the mill mainstream Hindi stuff. And, suddenly you became the face for the mainstream cinema. This guy is the guy who is doing cool stuff.
Aamir Khan: Well, I am glad if people feel that way. I am happy to hear that. I don't know how I am being perceived as and how it's changing. As far as awards ceremonies go, I don't think I have been to an awards ceremony here.
Anuradha SenGupta: It has been a really long time that you attended an awards ceremony?
Aamir Khan: I have been acting for 18 years now. So it has been almost 14 or 15 years. I am glad people like my work and they feel I am doing good work in mainstream cinema.
Anuradha SenGupta: It is not a positioning that you in any way feel that you have contributed to or you have worked on?
Aamir Khan: No, I am sure I have. It is my work, but I have not calculated towards that. All these films that you are mentioning, say Lagaan, Sarfarosh or Rang De Basanti, Mangal Pandey, Dil Chahta Hai, are all films which are breaking every rule of mainstream cinema. On the face of it, as you start on a project like this, there is no practical reason why you should be doing the film, or for that matter, even Taare Zameen Par. The film has no heroine in it and there is just no romance in the film.
Anuradha SenGupta: So, no kissing then? At one point in time, you kissed in every film of yours.
Aamir Khan: Did I?
Anuradha SenGupta: Of course!
Aamir Khan: Did I? I really don't remember.
Anuradha SenGupta: Your heroines will be really offended, if you don't really remember.
Aamir Khan: I am sure I have done my share of kissing scenes and I am sure I will continue to do that.
Anuradha SenGupta: But it suddenly stopped?
Aamir Khan: No such thing. If the script requires it, and I feel like doing it then I will do it.
Anuradha SenGupta: I am just teasing you.
Aamir Khan: However, talking about these films, on paper they may all seem suicidal, but I am glad that they turned out to be such box office successes as well. It indicates that the audience is changing. They are ready for films, which break rules and are different.
Anuradha SenGupta: As we get into the final week before the film releases, you seem to be wooing the media. This is a different stance from what you took about a year ago, which was before Mangal Pandey, Rang De Basanti and even during Fanaa. So, is media less of a monster now?
Aamir Khan: No, I don't think it is less of a monster or more of a monster.
Anuradha SenGupta: But still, a monster? It's okay, I won't take it personally.
Aamir Khan: Yes, I don't mean it personally. I think there are some things happening in the media which I don't think are very good.
Anuradha SenGupta: Yes, you have talked about that. I know those.
Aamir Khan: Yes, so I won't go into the length of it.
Anuradha SenGupta: What has marked a change this time around?
Aamir Khan: Until Mangal Pandey I was giving interviews around the time of my releases and sometimes in the middle too. At that time journalism was going through a phase, which it still is going through. The kind of journalism I faced at that time took me by surprise. I was shocked and didn't know how to deal with the media at that time. Then there were accusations that I talk to the press only when my film releases. So, I didn't talk to any media person before the release of Rang De Basanti or Fanaa.
But talking to the media is something I still haven't come to terms with. I know how to make movies but don't know how to promote myself. I definitely think that given the time and effort that goes into making a film, I would like to make people aware that my film is releasing and I would like you to see it.
Anuradha SenGupta: Is it also a power game? That at some point you decide, 'Look, I don't need you'.
Aamir Khan: There's no power game. Media is much more powerful than me. I am just a single person and the media is huge. I have faced the wrath of the media for years now. It's not something I'm not accustomed to, I'm very aware of the kind of damage that can be caused to me and there's very little I can do about it. Especially since, I'm the kind of person who would go into a shell rather than someone who steps out. There have been articles that have been completely fictitious; my success has been completely underplayed and controversies are constantly hyped. I don't think I deserve that. I'm one the few actors who has done some quality work. There are some people in the media, who I know have the daggers out for me. That's how it is though it's unfortunate. I guess that's how it's going to remain.
Anuradha SenGupta: But why is that? Is it because you want to play by your rules and they want to play by theirs?
Aamir Khan: No, I don't think it's my rules against theirs. It's just that there are some things I'm not comfortable doing. I'm not comfortable chatting up people or buttering people. I'm not made that way. There are people who want to feel the power of being in the media. But I'm not comfortable doing that so I don't do it. I'm a straight-talking person and that's how I am. I guess that doesn't go down well with some people.
Anuradha SenGupta: You don't think you use the media when it suits you? When Fanaa was not allowed to be screened in Gujarat, you let the media know about it and were available to talk about it. When you want to talk about things, you choose to let the media know that you are available to talk about it. So it cuts both ways, you don't think so?
Aamir Khan: I tend to disagree with you a bit. As an individual, I have the right to decide when I want to talk and when I don't. When I want to talk, you have the right to say, 'I don't want to interview you right now'. So I'm saying it's fair enough for both. I'm not saying that interviews will be given by me only when I want and you guys have to be at my beck and call. So while I take my stance, which I think is very fair, I don't see that from the media's side. Their point of view, in fact, is one of power. 'How dare he not talk to us when we want to talk to him'.
Anuradha SenGupta: When we can do so much, either way.
Aamir Khan: Either way. So that's what I find unfair. I'm not saying you have to interview me, at the same time, you shouldn't say you have to give an interview. That's all I'm saying.
Anuradha SenGupta: The film business is not like any other, right? It's so commercial, at the same time it can be creative, emotional and personal.
Aamir Khan: Yes.
Anuradha SenGupta: It's all sort of like one big cauldron of human emotions.
Aamir Khan: Yes, I think so. That's pretty well put. It comes with different kind of demands each time. It is difficult.
Anuradha SenGupta: How do you cope?
Aamir Khan: I have no idea.
Anuradha SenGupta: Sometimes I think you have a great sense of humour but it's very well hidden.
Aamir Khan: I do have a great sense of humour. It may not come out in a hard talk interview.
Anuradha SenGupta: This is hardly a hard talk interview, come on.
Aamir Khan: Maybe if we spend time separately you'll experience my humour and decide how good my humour is.
Anuradha SenGupta: It's straight-faced dry, right?
Aamir Khan: Well, you should decide for yourself.
Anuradha SenGupta: In your interviews, you're like, I'm thinking and I'm this intellectual filmstar.
Aamir Khan: Is that how I'm behaving right now?
Anuradha SenGupta: Not right now, most of the times.
Aamir Khan: I think I respond quite instinctively to questions as well.
Anuradha SenGupta: These comments you made about Black did make it seem that you wanted to attach yourself to a controversy around the time of the release of you film. Everybody said it, you heard it. The film released in 2005, you're releasing a film focussed on a kid with special needs in 2007 and you go to town talking about the fact that you don't like it. You could have expressed that in 2005.
Aamir Khan: I did.
Anuradha SenGupta: You did? Publicly?
Aamir Khan: Yes. It's very unfortunate. I have the highest regard for Amitji. It upsets me that he is hurt or upset with me for what I have said.
Anuradha SenGupta: But why did you have to articulate it?
Aamir Khan: I was asked a question and I answered it. I answered what I felt honestly.
Anuradha SenGupta: It was not your sense of publicity.
Aamir Khan: Certainly not. If I wanted publicity I would be giving interviews before Fanaa and Rang De Basanti. So I think that's a question you should no longer ask me.
Anuradha SenGupta: Even the NBA thing, for what you got a lot of flak.
Aamir Khan: It was not for publicity at all. I'm not interested in publicity.
Anuradha SenGupta: But do you do follow ups? I mean, since then, what have you done?
Aamir Khan: You know, I'm an actor, I'm not a social activist.
Anuradha SenGupta: So, you're saying that was impulse.
Aamir Khan: Certainly.
Anuradha SenGupta: But the timing isn't suspect? People are going to ask.
Aamir Khan: People have to decide for themselves. If they want to suspect my motives, there's nothing I can do to rectify that. But I'm not going to change the way I am or the way that I operate trying to figure out how people at large are going to react to me. I don't think that's the way I want to lead my life. I want to lead it in as straight and honest way I can, in the most natural way that I can. In some cases, I rub people the wrong way. It's unfortunate in this case it is someone I have the highest regard for, Amitji. I'm very unhappy about that.
Anuradha SenGupta: You wish you hadn't?
Aamir Khan: In retrospect, I think I should have just kept my counsel.
Anuradha SenGupta: That's an odd turn of face, kept my counsel. Your work, your approach, I read somewhere on your blog, 'I rejected the Glassmaster thrice because of the sound'. What do people know about Glassmaster? Is everything that you do dogged, do you have to work on it?
Aamir Khan: No, I'm just sharing my experiences with my audience.
Anuradha SenGupta: But are you enjoying the feedback you are getting? I was reading some comments and I was like, I don't want to know what you think about my earring and I don't want to know what you think about my smoking. Do you really need to know what people think about you?
Aamir Khan: It's not a question of whether I need to or not. It's just something I enjoy very much. So I really want to know what people have to say. I may not agree with a lot of things. But I enjoy interacting.
Anuradha SenGupta: When you are not doing a film, what are you doing because you seem so consumed by it?
Aamir Khan: I love spending time with my family, my kids, reading.
Anuradha SenGupta: What do you read?
Aamir Khan: All kinds of books.
Anuradha SenGupta: I don't think you are reading anything at the moment?
Aamir Khan: I am, actually.
Anuradha SenGupta: As a getaway from the film?
Aamir Khan: As a getaway from the mind space I am in right now. I'm reading Agatha Christie.
Anuradha SenGupta: What fun! They never go out of fashion.
Aamir Khan: I find that they are very relaxing and light.
Anuradha SenGupta: You're reading the Miss Marple ones or Poirot?
Aamir Khan: I'm reading Death On The Nile right now.
Anuradha SenGupta: How many more interviews to go?
Aamir Khan: A couple of more I think.
Anuradha SenGupta: So, you are not phasing out. I think we should let you go now.
Aamir Khan: Okay.
Anuradha SenGupta: Will you owe us one if we let you go right now?
Aamir Khan: What would I owe you?
Anuradha SenGupta: I don't know, whatever. You think about it.
Aamir Khan: Okay, sure.
Anuradha SenGupta: All the very best.
Aamir Khan: Thank You.
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