You may hate him, you may love him, but you can’t ignore the fact the Amir Khan is the only one among the celebrated big Khans of Bollywood who actually doesn’t take his audience for granted.
When Ashutosh Gowarikar’s brilliant script had no takers, Aamir Khan stepped up to produce the Oscar-nominated cinema. With one move, he had already proved that he had a vision that most actors fall short of. The epic tale of Bhuvan and his mates in Champaner trying to fight the British at a cricket match to get laid off the heavy taxation was a plot that nobody dared to venture with. It was him that made this film get to the Oscars.
Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai was a milestone cinema that changed the way Bollywood dealt with friendship. It marked the end of bullshit, unnecessary drama, death pacts and lofty dialogues that never really occur between friends. Aamir Khan stepped into the shoes of the bratty Akash and made the character immortal. The flamboyance, the wit, the naturalism that he bought into the role, was fresh and much needed.
The only Khan from the big leagues who had ever dared to put on the director’s hat. Aamir Khan made his directorial debut and showed the world his in-depth understanding of cinema and the craft of film-making. The spectacularly executed emotional sequences that choke you in the throat but not titillate you were the essence of Taare Zameen Par. The performer that he is, Amir Khan stepped into the role of Ram Shankar Nikumbh, the empathetic art teacher who takes it upon himself to make sure that a young artist’s talents are not nipped in the bud just because he suffers from dyslexia.
Amit Khan, he is the best. Whatever he does, he does with such grace and ease that we feel it’s nothing, but it’s not. No one can be like him.
