Bollywood’s Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan turns 52 today. An accomplished actor, he is known for pushing himself beyond his comfort zone to justify the roles he has portrayed in his illustrious career spanning more than 25 years. Besides this, he is also known for being outspoken on various political issues even if it offends the people in power.
In 2016, Aamir played wrestling coach Mahavir Singh Phogat in blockbuster flick Dangal. The Filmfare Award-winning flick won a lot of accolades across the world. We all know how Aamir toiled hard to get in shape for the film. The Nitesh Tiwari directorial spanned through two-time phases and the actor went through rigorous fitness regime to get in shape for it. Isn’t it inspiring?
His fans will know how he spent a year at the gym to prepare for his role in A Murugadoss’ Ghajini, and later again transformed himself into a lean college student for Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots. You know the results born out of such sheer hard work. In the film business, you cannot take your stardom for granted. You need to continuously grow to at least maintain your fan base, if not increase it. Unlike a quintessential Bollywood star who attends lavish parties, graces award functions and adorns billboards of brands, Aamir is different. He never attends film award functions, avoids film parties and is very choosy about brand endorsements. He does a film in a year, sometimes two years. You know how his films shatter records one after another at the box office. And his Lagaan was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Can you beat that? You can watch this film zillion times whenever it comes on TV?
Reason. It is Aamir who can spend almost a year perfecting his Punjabi accent for Rang De Basanti, experiment with his look and physique for the films. Even if you are not an Aamir fan, you must have watched Dangal and realized how he left no stone unturned to play a ‘haanikarak bapu’ in the film.
He can speak Bhojpuri with sheer conviction in Hirani’s PK as well. Remember his role in Ketan Mehta’s Mangal Pandey: The Rising? Although the film did not do well at the box office, but Khan was applauded for the role.
Besides being a versatile actor, Aamir is known for speaking his mind out. In 2015, he sparked controversy after he joined the intolerance debate. Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Awards that year, Khan claimed his wife Kiran Rao suggested they move out of India as she feared for the safety of their children. Later, he clarified his comments saying that he did not say that India was ‘intolerant’ but there were some people spreading hatred who needed to be brought to book.
Recently, he rushed out in support of his Dangal co-actor Zaira Wasim who played Geeta Phogat in the wrestling biopic. Zaira became a victim of cyber-bullying after she met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The actor backed her in an emotional tweet, terming Zaira as a role model for all.
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) January 17, 2017
Aamir is known for his stand on issues like Narmada Dam agitation, FTII controversy, female foeticide and Bhopal gas tragedy which has landed him in trouble. However, he has not backed off even an inch which makes him a role model for all of us.
Have a nice day, Mr Perfectionist!
Also read: Aamir Khan redefines Box Office records by merging quality with popularity
