Aamir Khan on Dangal and more: I always fear, it keeps me alert

After Aamir Khan’s comments on intolerance in 2015, the actor landed in a major controversy with Dangal nearing release, the last thing he wants is redux of the same situation.Aamir Khan is one actor who doesn’t leave you disappointed with his witty and intelligent replies. The actor was in the city to speak about his upcoming movie Dangal releasing on December 23. When asked about his thoughts as an artiste on Karan Johar-MNS controversy, Aamir took his time and said, “I am thinking of an answer that doesn’t get me into trouble. I will give you my answer in January.”

After Aamir’s comments on intolerance in 2015, the actor landed in a major controversy. With Dangal nearing release, the last thing that Aamir wants is redux of the same situation.

But one topic on which the actor is eloquent is Dangal. When asked if he intends to enter any club with Dangal, Aamir said, “I don’t have any expectations. I hope that people love this film the way we felt while making it.”

The actor also spoke about demonetisation and said he has not been affected by it personally. “It’s mostly people who are dealing in cash who are facing a problem. My entire money is in a bank. I use credit cards for everything.”

Aamir Khan has earlier said that he will not promote Dangal on TV. The actor clarified and said, “We will, of course, promote Dangal on TV but not on TV shows. TV is an important medium for us. I have a different logic. There are two aspects of marketing – one is to inform people about film’s release date and the other is creating a desire amongst them to watch the movie. Being part of a big TV show doesn’t ensure that people will watch your movie. Instead, our goal is to create a desire. Sometimes disappearing can create a desire. And people already know about big film releases. Yes, if we take a small film like Peepli Live to a TV show, it will definitely give a boost to its promotion.”

The behind-the-scene footages of Dangal shows Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Sheikh in their most depleted self and in dire need to drink water much like their onscreen characters

On asked in what ways Dangal is unique, Aamir said, “What attracted me about Dangal were its moments of humour. It’s like a Rajkumar Hirani film. You are trying to say something but say it in the light-hearted matter. The humour is the surface level of that film. With Dangal, we have the same deadly combination of humour and dramatic moments.”

Asked if by making a biopic a Bollywood personality overshadows a real life icon Aamir says, “We are not promoting our film by taking inspiration from Mahaveer Phogat’s life. I am sure Phogat family’s glory will increase tenfold once the film releases. I recently heard the Sanjay Dutt biopic script from Rajkumar Hirani and I was blown away by it. I am sure Sanjay Dutt will gain more appreciation and fame than Ranbir Kapoor who is playing the character.”

Aamir is working with four newcomers in Dangal. When asked if there has been a difference in their approach, he said, “All these girls come from city background. For them, they had to transform themselves in their first film. When I was doing Qyamat Se Qyamat Tak, I was in my comfort zone. I was doing all that was normal for my age. But these girls had to learn wrestling and had to adapt themselves into the characters from a small village in Haryana. They are as passionate as I was 25 years ago. The thirst is same. But in this film, they are ten steps ahead of me.”

Aamir Khan is speaking Haryanvi in Dangal. “Learning Haryanvi was difficult for me as I was coming out of Bhojpuri zone. It took me four months to learn the accent. And we have not been 100% strict with the language. We have diluted it so that people from the country can understand it.”

Aamir also spoke about film collections. “One can’t trust newspapers for film collections. But a person inside a film industry knows the exact figures of every film.” When asked if after all these years if he is still afraid before starting a movie, the actor said, “I always fear. I fear every time I start making a film.”

Superstar Aamir Khan with international wrestler Geeta Phogat at her wedding with Dangal film cast at Balali village of Charkhi Dadri district on Sunday.November 20, 2016: Express Photo

Aamir narrated an incident from his movie Lagaan. “Everyone in the industry told us that the film is not going not work. We were speaking Avadhi, wearing dhotis and playing cricket. The scenes of cricket were not ending at all. My wife Reema told me that she couldn’t understand the language we were speaking in the film, how will the audience understand the film? There is a scene in the movie where I say, ‘Ma ye beda uthake maine kauno galti toh nahi kar di hai?’One day me and Ashu ( director Aushutosh) are sitting and I say instinctively,‘Ashu, yeh beda uthake hamne kauno galti toh nahi kar di?’ I always remember that line. So fear is always there. And my films are so new and unique that I don’t know where I will end up. Fear makes me alert and it also makes me excited about the film.”