Aamir Khan on his unparalleled superstardom: 'Some day, I will definitely lose all of this'

Credit should be given to director Advait Chandan for reviving a side of Aamir Khan — a mischievous streak — which found much acceptance in the '90s.

With the passage of time a sober Aamir of Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai replaced the Aamir of Rangeela, Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar and Andaz Apna Apna. With Secret Superstar, however, Aamir has turned back the clock. So what’s mischievous this time about his role? “I play Shakti Kumar, a music composer whose career is in the doldrums. He is arrogant, full of himself, self-centered and extremely rude to people. I found this character very entertaining,” reveals Aamir. Ask him if the character is an amalgamation of Anu Malik and Bappi Lahiri — and Aamir replies that Shakti Kumar is inspired by neither.

The protagonist of Secret Superstar is 14-year-old Insiya, played by Zaira Wasim, who Aamir played father to in Dangal. He's worked with child actors in Taare Zameen Par and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke as well.  Does the superstar feel any pressure while working with children? “With kids, you can’t make them work long hours. I remember during the shoot of TZP, we followed short working hours. We used to give regular breaks to the children in the middle of the shoot. There even used to be a tuition teacher on the set. You can’t make them work like adults. You have to be very sensitive,” ays Aamir. About his own youngest child, Azad, Aamir says the tot doesn't seem interested in movies at the moment. “He is yet to see a full film. Whenever he sees my films, he gets scared. There was this scene in PK when people are running behind me to beat me, after he saw this he got very scared and Kiran had to take him out of the screening theatre.”

This year, while big films have failed to deliver at the box office, it’s the small films like Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Newton, which have helped the industry recover. Aamir disagrees, however, that this is a trend that will help Secret Superstar. “This observation is not relevant or applicable to SS. Unusual films were made earlier too and will be made in the future as well. SS will succeed only if turns out to be a good film and just because it’s an unusual subject does not mean that it will work. A lot of time you can pick an unusual subject and make a bad film out if it,” says Aamir.

Aamir doesn't seem dazzled at all by the unparalleled superstardom he enjoys. He doesn't take it seriously, and it doesn't make him any the less grounded. “Apart from my upbringing, the other reason could also be that I have a curious mind. My curious attitude takes away my attention from these things. I believe in enjoying what I am doing and I am often in search of things. The feeling of being a superstar never strikes me,” he says. In 2010, it was Aamir’s stardom which made wife Kiran Rao unwilling to sign him for her directorial debut Dhobi Ghat. “Kiran asked how she'd shoot with me at the location when the film has a unit of just nine people as opposed to a posse of my bodyguards! I had to keep my stardom aside because it was coming in the film's way. I reached the location at three in morning which was a just a room with a bathroom and remained closeted there for three weeks,” reveals Aamir. The three-week period at the location also witnessed meetings with Raju Hirani in the bathroom for prep work on Three Idiots.

Inform Aamir that Shah Rukh too mentioned this curiosity in a conversation a few days ago, and Aamir says, "Shah Rukh is a very entertaining person to be with. He is wonderful at narrating stories and I love listening to him. He (has the ability to) really bring a moment alive.”

Posters for Secret Superstar

A conversation with 'Mr Perfectionist' wouldn't be over without mentioning his upcoming Thugs of Hindostan. Aamir was extremely peeved when his look from the film was leaked and is now resigned to the fact that such things will keep happening — especially now that everyone is armed with a camera. “Ideally they should not leak (looks) because we try to present the look of the characters at a particular time in a particular way. Even when I was shooting for PK, on the very first day my 'Ghaghara' look got leaked. This is the reality and we have to deal with it.” On working with Amitabh Bachchan, he maintains that it’s an honour sharing screen space with him. In the past, directors like Indra Kumar and Mansoor Khan had made attempts to bring both the superstars under one roof but as fate would have it both the films got shelved eventually. “I remember seeing Namak Halal and being mesmerised by his aura. The sway that Mr Bachchan has cannot be recreated. It’s a very unique thing.  Just imagine the period when he had seven of him films running simultaneously. He was one star who clashed with himself. None of us will ever get to see the stardom, which Mr Bachchan has seen,” remarks Aamir.

At the peak of his career, Aamir still remains aware that stardom is ephemeral. He is not fearful of the day when he will lose it all. “I have no doubt that there will be a day when I won’t have all these. Creativity too has its limits. It’s created, goes through a sustenance period and finally gets destroyed. Everything that exists will eventually get destroyed and I will lose all of this definitely some day.”

The levelheaded attitude says a lot about the man. If Aamir is currently at the peak of his creativity, then SS certainly gives us reason for a dekko.