Aamir and Dhobighat

After playing a 20-year-old student in 3 Idiots, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan will be seen in the role of a painter in wife Kiran Rao's directorial debut Dhobighat.

The film, which also stars Smita Patil's son Prateik Babbar, will be Aamir first project in 2010. The film will be released in the second half of this year. Dhobighat's shooting is complete. Post-production is going on. We will release it in the last half of 2010," Aamir said. "There are four lead roles and I am one of them. I have enjoyed working with Kiran. She is a creative director and Kiran has got what she wanted," the actor told reporters here last night.

Aamir is playing a painter who lives and works in his tiny studio-apartment in a noisy and congested Mumbai neighbourhood. The megastar said that he would release three films as a producer this year. "Right now, I am going to take a two months off. After that, I will start reading scripts that appeals me as an actor or director. If I like something, I'll do that. But whether its acting or directing, I don't know," he said.

Rejecting reports that his brand value has increased after the success of 3 Idiots, the actor said, "I don't hold myself as a brand. I am an artiste who works with stories".