Aamir Khan.More than an Actor: Movies

When you type Aamir Khan into Google it will fetch you a brief description about him from Wikipedia which says, "Aamir Khan is an Indian film actor, director, producer and television presenter. Through his successful career in Hindi films, Khan has established himself as one of the most popular and influential actors of Indian cinema."

Very true. I was hardly an Aamir Khan fan until I watched 3 Idiots! The movie changed my whole perspective about education. It also inspired me to find out more about Mr.Aamir. This hub is a result of the same. I have tried to bring about a brief description of each of his movie and what appealed to me in them.

With Tahir Hussain (father) and Nasir Hussain (uncle) being well known for their work as producer and director in Bollywood, he was bound to be inclined towards films. His first ever appearance in a feature film was as a child actor in the hit film 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat' in 1973. Aamir Khan's debut film was however, in 1988, in the experimental film 'Holi'.

Known as Mr.Perfectionist in Bollywood, Aamir Khan's journey in his initial days of career was far from being perfect. Recollecting his days of struggle in the industry, Aamir said at an event in Mumbai:

Further as per report, he declined the offer because he was unhappy with the script. With due respect to Mr. Mahesh Bhatt, he declined the offer even at a point where his films were tanking at the box office. Success seemed elusive but hope was still alive. His message to all from the incident was:

Here is a list of his films that are worth watching and a brief description of each:

PK

This was the most recent Aamir Khan movie that I saw. The plot involves Aamir as an alien and brings forth pressing issues prevalent in society like bias based on religion and blind faith. The name PK means drunk in Hindi and that's what people call him when Aamir starts questioning them about obvious traditions. The message from the movie is to follow Religious Tolerance and live in Harmony in our multi-cultural environment. The best thing about the movie was the choice of a completely uninitiated alien who has to go through all the beliefs (of different religions) which clash with one another and find out the optimal way of reaching God. In the end, there comes a point where Aamir's character asks," Which God do I follow? The One that created us or the one that we created!".

This movie involves three friends who join an engineering college and describes their transition from undergraduates to engineers. The message from the movie is to not force kids into being something that they do not aspire to be. Instead, let them find out what they are passionate about and Encourage them in pursuing more training in that field. The movie has also highlighted various flaws in the education system wherein rote learning seems to be more rewarding than conceptual learning.

Although the main plot of this movie was a love story, an important issue like female trafficking (it was the reason why the female lead dies) and a disorder Anterograde Amnesia have been portrayed. Anterograde Amnesia is a condition wherein a person can no longer remember anything new while previous long-term memories exist. The movie has some scenes which are not suitable for children and there was controversy over the U/A certificate given to it.

It also was in the news for a unique marketing tactics employed by the team. This involved Aamir Khan having the same haircut and look even outside the film, giving the ticket-sellers the same hairdo, involving people online, Ghajini games etc.

The movie is a continuation of the Dhoom series of movies with a fresh set of action and glamour for the viewers. Dhoom and Dhoom 2 were more of a thief and his smartness in tricking the police. Dhoom 3 had more to it. It gave a reason to the viewers to support the anti-hero. The action was elevated with a dynamic performance by Aamir who had reportedly requested for one whole year to prepare his body for the role of gymnast. There is a scene where one might feel that Aamir can no longer escape with the cops in front and water all around. But something happens(You can watch the movie or the scene on Youtube) and he still manages to flee!

Siddharth Nigam has been commendable as the younger version of Aamir Khan.

The movie focussed our attention to the fact that not all children can be dealt with the approach:"Chadi Vaj ChamCham; Vidya Yei GhamGham". (There is even a Youtube video on this!)This is a Marathi saying which means: If you want a stubborn child to learn something then just give him some amount of whipping.

It brought forth a learning disorder called Dyslexia and what kind of problems an affected child can face. The child Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) is highly gifted when it comes to art but has difficulty in academics. This is however seen as an unwillingness to learn by his parents and teachers who in turn resort to punishing him for the same. However, all this changes when the new Art teacher (Aamir) realises that the child is dyslexic and needs support to overcome his limitations.

It is 1893. India is under the British rule. Villagers have been imposed land tax (Lagaan) in a village called Champaner. They cannot afford such heavy taxes and seek help from the King who is unable to do so as he too is under the British law. An officer puts a challenge in front of them. Defeat the Englishmen in a game of Cricket and no more taxes for three years. The movie follows how Bhuvan(Aamir) brings about a team of players who have to keep aside their differences and fight for what is just and righteous.

This movie is about three childhood friends and depicts their life post college. It is a journey of how they find true love. Each of them has a different approach when it comes to love. One of them confuses mere infatuation to be love, the second doesn't believe in love while the third is pretty much engrossed in his own work and doesn't get involved easily. A taboo like a young bachelor falling in love with a divorced woman far elder to him has also been portrayed.

A film that had an amazing soundtrack thanks to A.R.Rahman and a story far different from what we normally get to see in Bollywood.

A British filmmaker, assisted by her friend Sonia, comes to India in search of actors to play the roles of revolutionary freedom-fighters(Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajguru, Ashfaqulla Khan and Ramprasad Bismil) in her documentary. She fails to get worthy actors and in turn decides to cast Sonia's friends for the documentary.The film displays how certain principles still hold true no matter what generation we are in. It also highlighted various political issues prevalent in India.

It led to political discussions and criticism of politicians for being corrupt and ineffective in many respects.

He has also acted in comical roles. Here are two such films:

A movie that will surely make you laugh when you watch it for the first time. It has Salman Khan and Paresh Rawal in the lead along with Aamir Khan. The female leads are Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor. In the movie, the two actors vie for the hand of a rich girl(Raveena Tandon) and in turn end up in a series of comical situations. The movie ends up with they being face-to-face with a criminal who is a lookalike of the girl's father. The popularity of the movie is clear from its IMDB rating of 8.8/10.

A wealthy businessman decides to marry his son(Ajay) to his wealthy friend's daughter(Madhu) since both of them dislike the poor. However, Ajay falls in love with Kajal and Madhu with Raja, both of whom are poor. The film shows how the two fathers try to prevent their children from marrying their poor love interests.

Some of his other superhit films are:

• Fanaa(2006)
• Talaash(2012)
• Dil(1990)
• Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak(1988)
• Sarfarosh(1999)
• Raja Hindustani(1996)
• Ghulam(1998)
• Mann(1999)
• Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar(1992)
• Rangeela/Bollywood Dreams(1995)
• Mangal Pandey:The Rising(2005)
• Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke(1993)
• Akele Hum Akele Tum(1995)

The thing I love about Mr. Aamir is the choice of his films. Films that leave you with something more after 2 hours of entertainment. Films that have you thinking. In almost all of his recent films, there is an effort to bring awareness about vital social or moral issues. And none of them have been too serious or boring.

On being asked whether he is interested in joining politics, this was his reply:

The power of films is quite substantial in a country where Bollywood is so very popular. It is heartening to see people like Aamir Khan utilising it to the optimum level.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamir_Khan
• http://www.missmalini.com/2014/08/20/what-made-aamir-khan-cry/
• http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog/login.php
• http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/aamir-khan-does-not-charge-fees-for-films-here-s-how-he-earns-his-moolah/article1-1334272.aspx
• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Aamir-Khan-Lesser-known-facts/photostory/45370727.cms
• http://www.bollywoodmuseum.com/aamir-khan