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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UT with dual power structure 'worst form of govt', says Omar Abdullah
Srinagar (PTI): Terming the current administrative structure in Jammu and Kashmir the “worst form of government”, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called for an urgent shift toward full statehood while acknowledging that significant progress has been made in narrowing differences with the Centre over the transaction of business rules.
The chief minister also hit out at vested interests making efforts to create a political wedge between Jammu and Srinagar, saying “they have failed and they will continue to fail”, and highlighted the restoration of the traditional biannual shift of the capital known as ‘Darbar Move’ as a vital bridge in narrowing the emotional divide between the two regions.
Speaking with PTI, Abdullah argued that the logic behind treating a territory with 90 elected legislators on par with smaller regions like Puducherry, which has only 30, remains incomprehensible, and reiterated his earlier stand that a dual power system where two power structures exist is a "recipe for disaster”.
“Can you not see the difference between a tiny one with 30 MLAs and one with 90 MLAs? And you still believe that this current system is beneficial to Jammu and Kashmir after everything that happened last year?” the chief minister asked while referring to the Pahalgham tragedy, pointing out that keeping elected representatives out of the law and order situation was doing no good.
He specifically noted that the size and scale of Jammu and Kashmir demand a governance model where the elected representatives are fully responsible for administration.
“I continue to maintain that view. I continue to believe that a system of Union territory with an assembly is by far the worst form of government that you can come up with,” Abdullah told PTI here recently.
The chief minister highlighted that several key institutions, including universities, the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Power Development Corporation, should have automatically come under the domain of the elected government.
“I am not even arguing on the central services, law and order, and police. As a Union territory, those are automatically within the domain of the unelected government. But these were institutions that were previously the responsibility of the elected government. And they should be,” Abdullah said.
Despite these friction points, Abdullah expressed optimism, stating that his government and the Government of India are close to reaching an agreement on the rules of business and that a formal proposal for the appointment of a new advocate general has finally been dispatched to the appropriate authorities.
“Again, as I said, we have made significant progress on these issues,” he said.
On the long-standing issue of summary dismissals of government employees without judicial inquiry, Abdullah described the process as arbitrary, opaque and unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny.
This practice did not originate with the current lieutenant governor's administration but was initiated during the previous BJP-PDP coalition government, he said.
“Look, everyone has the right to prove their innocence. For some reason, these employees were not given that opportunity. And I have no doubt that going ahead, many of these people will return to government service on the back of relief from the court.
“We will not be able to defend the dismissal of these employees in the courts. It will happen, you mark my words, because the process is arbitrary. The process is opaque. There is no clarity and transparency in the process. Ultimately, we will not be able to bear up to judicial scrutiny," he said.
Referring to the promises made by his party, the National Conference, Abdullah detailed the operationalisation of his poll promises, including 200 units of free electricity and six free cooking gas cylinders for the poorest households, underlining that power subsidy is being provided to the poorest of the poor.
He argued that anyone above the poverty line should pay market rates for electricity to ensure that state resources are prioritised for the most vulnerable.
“Rich people shouldn't even be getting subsidised electricity. If I could, though obviously I can't do it in a single stroke, I would like to remove subsidised electricity from all these rich people.
“Anybody above BPL (Below Poverty Line) should not be paying subsidised rates for electricity. They should pay the market rate,” he said.
Beyond direct welfare, Abdullah highlighted the restoration of the ‘Darbar Move’ and the introduction of free education and bus travel for women as key milestones in his 20-month-old administration.
Speaking on the composite culture of J-K, Abdullah said the traditional biannual shift of the capital has allowed a new generation of employees from Jammu, who had never worked in the Valley before, to bond with their Kashmiri counterparts.
“The distance between Jammu and Kashmir has reduced to a great extent,” Abdullah said, adding that the two regions historically come together during times of adversity, whether after natural disasters or security crises.
Replying to a query on Kashmiri Pandits who migrated to various camps in Jammu, Abdullah said the question needs to be asked of the BJP as to why they are still in camps.
“Please ask the BJP how many more elections do they want to exploit their (Kashmiri Pandits’) votes before actually doing something to bring them back,” Abdullah said.
Terming the migration “deeply unfortunate”, Abdullah said, “We want those who left in the late 80s, early 90s, to come back. I have always maintained that they left because their sense of security was snatched away. They will come back only when that sense of security is restored. And we have not been able to do that so far.”
Crediting former prime minister Manmohan Singh for building the Jagti township in Jammu for migrants and creating a job quota for them, Abdullah said that nothing more has been done for the community since then.
To a question on dynastic politics following the recent defeat of M K Stalin in Tamil Nadu, Abdullah dismissed the idea that the defeat of established leaders is a verdict on their lineage, and argued that belonging to a political family only "opens a door" but does not guarantee a seat at the table.
“What keeps it open is your own performance,” Abdullah said, pointing out that even non-dynastic leaders like Mamata Banerjee faced electoral setbacks.
He also dismissed rumours of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle in J-K as “absolute lies”.
