In his resignation letter sent to HRD minister Kapil Sibal (a copy of which is with NDTV), Aamir has made it clear that he's hurt by recent developments. "Sir, I take great pride in my honesty and integrity, and attach an enormous amount of value to my sense of justice and fair play. Monetary achievements have never excited me. If they had, I would have acted in many more than one film a year, thereby being financially much richer than I currently am. Had I been driven by monetary achievements I would not have produced films that challenge the mainstream and break new ground, films like Lagaan, Taare Zameen Par and Peepli Live, that most producers would hesitate to produce. I believe that what I have earned is the love and respect of my colleagues and my audience. And this I have done through my work and through the manner in which I work. This is why such public attacks are most damaging to me emotionally and leave me crippled," he writes.
A war of words had reportedly erupted between Khan and Akhtar at a meeting between producers and writers over the issue of royalties. Taking the side of the producers, the actor is believed to have downplayed the role of lyricists in making any song popular. According to him, the star on whom the song gets picturised is what really matters. It was a stance that didn't go down well with Akhtar, who hit back by labelling Aamir's 'contribution' as 'interference'.
There have been serious differences of opinion in Bollywood after the Union Cabinet on December 24 last year decided to approve the proposal to introduce a bill to amend the Copyright Act, 1957 according to which writers, musicians and lyricists are entitled to royalty for commercial use of their work in films. Producers had objected to the move, saying it violated the way in which the film industry worked. According to them, it was a practice to pay composers lyricists on a contractual basis, regardless of how their compositions performed. They would consider paying royalty only if those demanding it also shared in the commercial risks of filmmaking.
Faced with stiff opposition from certain quarters of the film fraternity, the Government had set up a panel of experts to examine the issue and submit a report. Besides Aamir, others on the panel include producer Mukesh Bhatt, lyricists Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi, music director Vishal Dadlani, script writer Anjum Rajabali, director Vishal Bharadwaj and music companies T-Series and Sa Re Ga Ma.
Insisting in his letter that he had been prevented from making a 'meaningful contribution' to the panel, Khan said he had no option but to ask for his name to be removed from the panel. "I feel I have a lot to contribute to the ongoing debate but I cannot make any meaningful contribution in this atmosphere. Aggression of this type leaves me feeling very disillusioned and sad and I am unable to function. Therefore I request you to accept my resignation from this committee and please appoint another person in my place. I believe that amendments to the Copyright Act are long overdue and I am so happy that a person like you is spearheading this movement," the actor concluded.
