I should not have been a star, I broke all rules and made everything impractical: Aamir Khan
Panaji (PTI): I don't know how I became a star, says actor Aamir Khan, stressing that in his career of over 30 years, he did everything that broke the many "rules" of stardom.
Speaking at a session during the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the 60-year-old actor said his filmography comprises of films that were "impractical".
"I don't know how I became a star. By all logic, I should not have been a star. I broke all the rules and I made everything impractical. So, I feel grateful that I received so much respect and success. Otherwise, practically speaking, none of the steps I took were from the point of view of achieving success," Aamir said.
Whether it was "Sarfarosh", "Lagaan", "Ghajini", "Taare Zameen Par", or his latest "Sitaare Zameen Par", the actor said all of them were experimental and shouldn't have worked at the box office.
"In fact, almost every film I used to pick, I used to be like, 'I don't know whether this is going to work.' Like 'Sarfarosh' and 'Lagaan', when we were releasing the film, we had no idea if people are going to like it or not.
"Then 'Lagaan', there was even 'Dil Chahta Hai' which was very unusual for its time and now 'Sitaare Zameen Par', all these films that I have picked, they were not meant to be successful," he added.
During the session, titled "The Narrative Architect of Social Transformation", Aamir said he likes to "surprise my audience and myself" as an actor.
"I don't want to do the same thing again and again. It's just out of how I am as a personality that I have picked different scripts. And I have always gone with what excites me, personally."
Aamir said these days a lot of film people tend to try and second guess the audience.
"They are like, 'What is it that I should make today?' The obvious answer is what people are watching and what are the films running nowadays in the market. So, you try and make that genre.
"If it's action, you make action. If it's comedy, you try and pick up a comedy film. But I have never thought that way. I have not been able to think that way. I pick films based on my own personal excitement towards the story. And most often, that goes against what is the norm at that time."
Aamir said when he did "Ghajini" in 2008, action films were not being made in the industry.
"Everyone told me that, 'Man, you are doing action now. Action films are not running nowadays.' So, 'Ghajini' came in and with it, action came in to fashion," he said.
Aamir's last release was "Sitaare Zameen Par", which released in theatres in June, followed by its digital release on YouTube under pay per view model.
Directed by R S Prasanna, the movie featured Aamir as Gulshan, an assistant coach of a major basketball team. After being fired from his job, he is ordered to either go to jail or do 90 days of community service as the coach of a team of specially-abled basketball players.
Aamir said he was surprised by the success of the film, which earned over Rs 250 crore at the box office.
"The audience has proved everyone wrong in the way the film got a reaction. The kind of love and respect the film got was unprecedented. So, I am really happy that audiences don't only want to watch one kind of film.
"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what genre you are making it, what genre you are working in, but every film that you make has to be really hitting on the right notes. So, even if you are making an action film, at the end of the day, you need a good story for that."
Aamir's films have often been praised for providing entertainment with a dose of message, whether it was "Sitaare Zameen Par", which spoke about neurodivergent children or his earlier films like "Taare Zameen Par", "Dangal" and "3 Idiots".
The actor, however, stressed that he is not someone who picks up social causes actively.
"I am not an activist and nor am I someone who is interested in actively taking up issues. That's not me. What is me is storytelling, what is me is films. That's my world. And I am very sharply aware that when a person comes to a cinema hall, he or she is not coming there for a lesson in sociology. For that, they would go to a college," he said.
His first and primary responsibility is to entertain audiences and Aamir said he is aware of that.
"But the word entertain is not just make you laugh. I can make you cry also and entertain you. Basically, I want to engage you in one way or the other. I can scare you by making a horror film. I can make a suspense thriller. I can make a family drama. I can make different genres."
The actor said he is now looking for his next film.
"I am deciding which one to do. So, I am not thinking and have never thought that which is the next social topic I should pick up. That does not occur to me at all. So, the first attraction for me is the great script. And if that great script is also telling us something which is socially relevant, it's all the better. But I am not trying to look for social themes," Aamir said.
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Have sanctioned 1,000 buses for next fiscal, says K'taka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Wednesday said the government has sanctioned procurement of 1,000 government buses in the next year’s budget.
According to him, in the current fiscal, 2,000 buses were sanctioned and many of them have already arrived.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, he alleged that the previous BJP government neither bought a single bus nor recruitment was done in the state transport department.
He was replying to BJP MLC Y M Satish’s request for buses for Ballari and Vijayanagara districts.
“From 2019 to 2023, not a single bus was purchased in the four corporations. Not even one bus. If buses are not purchased continuously for four years, what will happen to the organisation?” Reddy asked.
He recalled that the last time buses were procured and recruitments took place were in 2016, when he was the transport minister during the previous Congress government from 2013 to 2018.
“After we came to power (from 2013), we procured 6,080 new buses. Then last year, 2,000 buses were provided, and many of them have already arrived. This year too, 1,000 buses have been sanctioned in the budget,” Reddy told the House.
He noted that 9,000 people were recruited and 1,300 people were appointed on compassionate grounds during the Congress tenure.
The Minister added that around 2,000 to 2,500 buses have been refurbished.
“In total, 6,080 buses came in two years. Last year’s 2,000 buses, and now 1,000 more. Altogether, we have about 26,000 buses. Out of these, nearly one-third have been added in the last two-and-a-half years,” Reddy said.
Satish told the Minister that at least 100 red buses and about 20 Volvo buses are required for Ballari and Vijayanagara districts.
In response, Reddy said in 2022-23, 720 buses were given, and in 2024–25, 307 buses; in 2026, 140 buses—totalling 1,173 new buses were given to Kalyana Karnataka region.
There are around 4,000-odd buses in Kalyana Karnataka region, he said adding that another 400 buses have been tendered and funds have to be released.
“Additionally, 56 high-end buses—sleeper AC, non-sleeper AC, and Volvo buses—are also coming. Now, 400 buses are coming. Priority will be given to Ballari and Vijayanagara districts,” Reddy said.
