Celeb Watch

Unbreak my heart

by Firdaus Ali

· He's still got that cho-chweet, boy-next-door charm

Sir, you've made one helluva brilliant film," gushed an avid film-fest buff to Aamir Khan at the post-screening session of Lagaan.

And Aamir tipped his hat and flashed his dazzling smile in response.

Though characteristically modest about having produced the biggest box-office hit of the year, he has received the same kind of response for his film from audiences the world over.

"Filmgoers have reacted to the film's story, humour, music, emotions and adventure in a similar manner be it in India, Europe or America. The film has also been appreciated and enjoyed in countries that do not play cricket and do not understand the dialect," says Aamir, who was in Toronto recently for the Toronto Film Festival and later for a show, where he performed live on stage with Gracy Singh and the entire 11-member cricket team from Lagaan.

Aamir, who makes no bones about the fact that Indian popular awards are "meaningless and sometimes rigged", was excited that Lagaan had recently won the international Prix du Public Award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. "The award is of special significance as it is a people's choice award and Lagaan is the first Hindi film to have won an international award this year," he said.

The actor is on a roll these days with gambles like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai having paid off big time, and has taken it upon himself to draw the audiences back into theatres.

"There is definitely an audience for good films and the commercial success of Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai only goes to prove this. Just like every country deserves the politicians it gets, it is also true that every audience deserves the kind of films they get. But with audiences becoming more aware and receptive to different and daring story lines and scripts, there is hope for good cinema," says Aamir.

While his recent films are still the talk of the town, Aamir is already onto his next two projects, an abcl production, and another film being directed by Mansoor Khan.

"I do only one or two films at a time because I live the character for the entire time that the film is being shot. I cannot play the fun-loving Aakash (Dil Chahta Hai) and the sincere, inspiring Bhuvan (Lagaan) at the same time. The intensity of the characters require them to be done in different time frames."

He has evolved from a chocolate boy hero to a versatile, sensitive actor. The film journey has been one of 13 years comprising 30-odd films. From the cho-chweet, boy-next-door in his debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak to the rustic who made a dhoti sexy in Lagaan, and the fun-loving extrovert in Dil Chahta Hai - the actor has matured with each experience.

Aamir began his acting career as a child artiste in his uncle Nasir Hussain's Yadon Ki Baraat.

"I took to acting for a lark. Having earlier assisted my uncle, I have learnt a lot from him. He was a filmmaker who was far ahead of his times. Tumsa Nahin Dekha was a milestone in Indian cinema and his films are remembered even today for their humour, dialogue, music and spunkiness," says Aamir.

He did Aditya Bhatta-charya's Paranoia when he was just 15 and chose offbeat films like Raakh and Earth which allowed him to experiment and test his acting skills. Rangeela, Ghulam, Raja Hindustani, Sar-farosh, Lagaan, and Dil Chahta Hai proved to be milestones in Aamir's career.

"I choose each role with utmost care. The script has to excite me. I know that if I respond to a good script, my audience is going to react too. Today's audience is an aware audience and nothing short of the best will do for them."

When Lagaan was conceived, Aamir knew right away that here was a different film.

"Lagaan was a gamble and I chose to produce the film as I wasn't able to find a producer who would be able to back the project all the way. Doing it myself was the best way to ensure that it got the cinematic treatment it deserved."

Costing a whopping five million dollars, the film was set in the make-believe village of Champaner in colonial India. Real-life villagers were used for background actors and the film's crew intermingled with the villagers of Bhuj for several months during the shooting. The same crew united to collect more than 35 lakh rupees to aid the villagers when the earthquake struck Gujarat.

Squashing all rumours of his wanting to turn director, Aamir says, "I have no intentions of directing a film at this juncture. Maybe someday... Direction is a different ball game altogether and I'd love to act and produce before taking on this enormous role and responsibility," he says.

He has a message for his fans:

"I want my audiences to refrain from buying or renting pirated copies of videos and dvds. If you can't see a film in the theatre, please wait until the video is released legitimately. Audiences do not know the kind of damage they are doing to good cinema. I am very emotional about my films and by picking up pirated versions of films and music, the audiences are only breaking my heart..."

And since this is India's hope at the Oscar's talking, fans had best take him seriously!

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