Aamir Lives Life With Precision

Aamir Khan has brought in his golden birthday. Shah Rukh Khan, who is next in line to hit 50 (November 2), has an easy charisma about him. Salman, who turns 50 on December 27^th, has a devil may care attitude. It’s only Aamir who comes across as someone who has carefully cultivated his public, private and professional image. Right down to the very last detail. Hes not called Mr. Perfectionist for nothing.

Aamir has worked on building this persona over the 25 years hes been part of the industry. A star kid, Aamir first appeared on screen aged eight in Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). He made his adult debut with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT, 1988). From there on Aamir was known as the romantic, chocolate boy hero.

Before Aamir could debut as a hero he married Reena Dutta. You can even see him flirting with her in the iconic song Papa Kehte Hain from QSQT.

With films like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (which he wrote, 1993), Aamir cemented his place as an actor to reckon with.

Then came the cult favourite Andaz Apna Apna (1994). Alongside Salman Khan, Aamir showed us his epic comic timing and his panache for physical comedy.



But it was with Rangeela (1995) that he hit the mark. His Munna was so endearing and you could not help but feel sorry for him when he was so out of his league in the posh restaurant dressed in bright yellow clothes. He lost out on the Filmfare to Shah Rukh for DDLJ but got it for Raja Hindustani (1996) which was, by no means, his best performance.

Aamir then picked more hard-hitting films like Ghulam, Earth (1998) and Sarfarosh (1999).



By now he had boycotted awards functions and our guess is preferred to sit at home than get all decked up to see Shah Rukh win awards.

But he made an exception when Lagaan (2001) went to the Oscars. His maiden venture under Aamir Khan Productions might have missed out on the Oscars but it did impact Bollywood in a big way.



Thats when we became more aware of the marketing genius that Aamir was. We were flooded with all things Lagaan and could not get it out of our system for a long time. Reports suggested that Aamir wanted his hand every piece of the filmmaking pie. Some called him interfering, some called him a perfectionist.

It was also in 2001 that Aamir played Akash in Dil Chahta Hai. The film ushered in a new era of storytelling, one that urban, hip and relatable. 



While his professional life was going great guns, his personal life took a beating. Aamir separated from Reena. This period was a particularly low one. He recently confessed to turning to alcohol to deal with the emotional pain. After that he returned to the screen only in 2005 with Mangal Pandey: The Rising. This was quite a gap for an actor who had consistently worked since his debut.  



Then, in 2005, he married Kiran Rao who was an assistant director on Lagaan. 

It seemed that with Rang De Basanti (2006), Aamir had developed an affinity for social causes. In 2006 he participated in the Narmada Bachao Andolan demonstrations.



His films too began to take up issues that affected society. In Taare Zameen Par (2007), which he directed, he played a teacher who helped a dyslexic student excel.



It was with Ghajini (2008) that he introduced to Bollywood the term the crore club. Ghajini was Bollywoods first Rs 100 crore film and changed the course of the box-office game.



Ghajini was also a great example of how well Aamirs films are marketed. Those selling tickets sported the iconic Ghajini haircut. Now, that would not have been a big deal if Shah Rukh Khans Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi had not released around the same time. So you might have wanted to watch a Shah Rukh film but you could not avoid coming face-to-face with an Aamir one first.

Aamir pushed the box-office numbers further with 3 Idiots (2009) that earned an insane Rs 200 crore. This was not your typical masala film but had a message to it so it was especially heartening to see it do so well at the box-office. 



Aamir continued to support social causes through his work by producing Peepli Live (2010), a film about farmers suicides. It was Indias official entry to the Oscars.

He also backed the offbeat film Delhi Belly (2011) and we all thank him for that because otherwise this film might never has seen the light of day.

On the personal front, his son Azad Rao Khan was born via a surrogate. And he was so honest about it. Childless couples were inspired; an icon was talking about a medical procedure so openly.



Aamir then made it his priority to create awareness about issues plaguing India. He did this with his show Satyamev Jayate. Aamir threw light on issues most of us were unaware of. He was often moved by the issues and our guess is that the TRPs shot up every time he shed a tear. 

Then came Dhoom 3 (2013) which easily crossed Rs 250 crore but by then wed come to expect this from Aamir. 



A little before that, some of his detractors even labelled his fine film Talaash as a flop simply because it did not cross the Rs 100 crore mark. Or did it eventually? Anyway.



Of course he redeemed himself with PK (2014) that became Bollywoods first Rs 300 crore film. PK had a social message and a naked Aamir. What more do you need?

Aamir often physically transforms himself for a role but hes also received flak for giving a similar style of performance, like he cries exactly the same way in all his films.

Most recently he also got called out on social media for criticising the AIB Roast.

But these are minor shortcomings that make no difference to one of the most bankable stars in Bollywood. We wouldn't be surprised if his best is yet to come.  

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