The Hindu : New Delhi News : Lending his voice for a cause

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 17, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Lending his voice for a cause

A NEW ROLE: "If I wanted to make money for my film `Rang De Basanti', I would have come three months earlier... "

Film star Aamir Khan has recently joined hands with victims of Gujarat riots, Bhopal gas tragedy and Narmada Bachao Andolan. Mandira Nayar finds out how `real' is he in the `activist' role...

He may not be King Khan or even the shirt-less "bad-boy", but recently Aamir has certainly emerged the politically correct Khan. Taking on a role that he has never chosen to do before -- that of an activist in real life -- he has been to the Capital twice in the past fortnight trying to understand difficult issues from those working with victims of Gujarat riots, Bhopal gas tragedy and Narmada Bachao Andolan.

A complete change of stance for an actor who has consistently been very reticent with the media, Aamir now has decided to talk openly about issues that concern him and support causes that most people in the film fraternity usually don't want to get involved with.

"I was concerned about people being killed in Gujarat. Not because they were Muslims, but because they were Indians," he said when he visited the office of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) to talk about the riots in the State. "I am concerned if things like this happen in the country. The film industry is no special place. I feel bad that people behind the carnage got re-elected."

From speaking out about his concerns about the Gujarat riots last week or associating himself with the country's two longest struggles for justice and appealing to the Prime Minister to give these people time, Aamir might not yet be ready to take on being the "poster-boy" for the causes, but he seems to want to try and use his celebrity tag for something more than entertainment.

"When I was in Delhi last, I saw people protesting at Jantar Mantar. I wanted to find out more about them," he said at a press conference after he had spent over two hours at the "dharna" sites interacting with people. Asked whether he would continue to support such social causes in future, he said: "I am reacting emotionally. I didn't plan on coming here last week; I just felt that I should be a part of raising my voice. I don't know what I am going to do next."

While his image change seems to have left sceptics wondering about the reasons -- ranging from whether it is the "Rang De Basanti" hangover or him actually coming out to do the toughest thing for an artist, to take off the mask -- Aamir seems to be trying to grapple with probably one of his most challenging roles. And this time not in the safe environs of the studios where he knows his way around, but in the rather trickier world of 24-hour television channels talking about "hot" issues.

"I am not going to talk about the height of the dam, because I don't know enough about the issue. However, I want to say that every Indian has the right to livelihood and if their land is taken away from them, we should stand up with them and lend our voices. We get so worried if our children don't get admissions in schools, here these are places where schools, hospitals have been washed away. They are farmers. They are responsible for the food we eat and their land is being snatched away," he said.

Activists might believe that it is a rather simple way of looking at the issue, but they do realise his speaking out makes a difference. With media descending down at the "dharna" site in unprecedented numbers to catch a glimpse of Aamir nodding at what the activists had to say, his clout does matter.

"I have no political ambitions," he clarified. "This is not to make money for my film. The movie is already a hit. If I wanted to make money for my film I would have come three months earlier," he said, when asked if this was an attempt to translate "Rang De Basanti" into real life.

While he is happy with what he does for a living -- entertaining people -- he wants to perhaps to make up for lost time. And while he might not believe in awards, the "Raja Hindustani" title might fit just right at the moment.

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