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The enigma called Aamir

Hot property Aamir Khan

He could be the one to hold a maximum number of nominations for best actor by Filmfare after Amitabh Bachchan or probably the only actor to find a place in the Filmfare nominations every year since his debut as full-fledged hero in 1988, except for t he four years from 2001 to 2005 when he went into hibernation. With over 19 Filmfare nominations, two awards for best actor (Lagaan and Raja Hindustani), one critic’s award for his stirring performance in Rang de Basanti, the best male debut award (Qayamat se Qayamat tak) and two official entries (Lagaan and Taare Zameen Par) to the Oscars, Aamir Khan is still the most misunderstood actor in the industry.

With the recent release of Ghajini, he once again proved what he is capable of. Aamir’s entry into the film world was much earlier, as he played the role of child artist in two films: Yaadon ki Baaraat and Madhosh.

Though his debut as an adult actor was in Holi in 1984 where he starred alongside his long time friend and later to be his ace director Ashutosh Gowarikar, Qayamat se Qayamat tak is considered to be his debut as hero in real sense. Ever since the Qayamat episode in 1988, with the chocolate boy image, Aamir has undergone a transformation in a phased manner. He always believed in experimentation and in his very next film Raakh, he treaded over a complex social subject and proved his acting prowess. Though the film did not make it big in the box office, it was critically acclaimed.

His theory of one film a year allowed him to concentrate and give his whole for the project. And probably that could be one reason why he succeeded. The actor featured in a variety of roles right from slick comedies in movies like Dil, Andaz Apna Apna, Rangeela and Ishq to hard-hitting roles in movies like Sarfarosh, Taare Zameen Par, Raja Hindustani, Mangal Pandey - The Rising and Lagaan.

Many top class directors in Bollywood acknowledged that ‘He is fit for any type of role’. His experiment with action started with Baazi where he portrayed the role of a commando. But the subtle image of an angry young man came with the role of a cop in Sarfarosh and as a patriot in Mangal Pandey. His play with emotions was well showcased in the family drama Akele Hum Akele Tum.

Aamir’s creative faculties came to fore with Deepa Mehta’s film Earth (1947) where he played the role of a confused Muslim youth during the time of partition and Raykesh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang de Basanti, where again he effectively portrayed the role of a misguided youth who ultimately fights and dies for a cause. Rang de, not only fetched him the critic’s award, but he was also nominated for the best actor’s award. His role as Rehan guide in Kunal Kohli’s Fanaa and that of Akash Malhotra in Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai, won him accolades from all quarters and his fan following shot up to an all time high. In both the films he switched between characters with thorough precision and professionalism.

If Sarfarosh and Dil Chahta Hai have won him admirers within the country, then Lagaan and Taare Zameen Par gave him rave reviews from the international audience. The actor let his imaginations rule in both the films. But the ultimate was Ghajini, the latest and the much talked of film. The film is all set to beat the records of all Bollywood hits in 2008. It grossed up over 900 million in the first five days and is expected to touch 1.4 billion by the end of the second week. Even the director of the film A.R. Murugadoss was enamoured by witnessing the creative faculties of Aamir. He publicly acknowledged the actors hand in bettering the climax of the film than the original Tamil version. But what stunned the others in Bollywood was his eight-pack body. The 46-year-old actor worked out in a personalised gym for over three hours a day and for six months to get the eight-pack abs and a body that even John Abraham is envious of.

Son of Tahir Hussain and nephew of Nasir Hussain, creative juices seem to flow in his blood.

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