The walk of fame

The bold choices that Aamir Khan has made as an actor will ensure that he remains a significant influence on the industry and on other stars

Shah Rukh Khan may be the king of Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan its iconic ATM but, among actors, Aamir Khan is its chief mover and shaker. The term is often used for anyone influential but Aamir has, through his choice of roles and his professional attitudes, literally moved the Hindi film industry in new directions and shaken up box office tastes.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says candidly that Aamir’s involvement in out-of-the-box projects like Rang de Basanti allow them to be made, since producers feel assured that his name on the banner will ensure a return on their investment. Indeed, market gossip has it that, when Rang de Basanti was at one stage strapped for funds, Aamir put in money to keep the project on track.

Not only has Aamir backed projects he believed in with his own money, he has as producer accepted innovation and professionalisation. In Lagaan, for example, he took the bold step of okaying synch sound. That immediately raised the profile of the sound technician in Bollywood.

Not only that, Kashyap adds that Aamir’s involvement in Lagaan made Shah Rukh do a Swades – to keep up with Aamir, as it were. Of course, whether or not they were influenced by Aamir’s example, other Bollywood stars too have made unconventional choices since he began. Hrithik Roshan not only demonstrated extraordinary acting calibre but made a bold choice, potentially slippery for his superstar career, by taking the unconventional lead role in Koi Mil Gaya. And Rani Mukherjee deserved the slew of best actor awards that she earned for Black.

It is tough for filmmakers to make such films, for producers are most often happier with a script that follows a pattern already proven at the box office. While many filmmakers believe that audience tastes change in response to socio-economic and other influences, producers can be relatively cynical. “The audience comes into the cinema without any expectation. They say, keep us entertained,” is how Adlabs Chairman Manmohan Shetty sees film entertainment. In fact, he adds, “it will never happen that the audience will dictate what they want to see.”

Given this sort of attitude among producers and financiers, the weight of a star behind a script with an unproven theme or storyline could be a make-or-break advantage. For, as veteran television series’ director Siddharth Kak says, the drawing power of the film star is immensely greater than that of the television star, although the latter can seem much more intimate and real.

Since this larger-than-life image among audiences puts even greater pressure on the film star to keep his or her image intact, the choices that successful actors like Aamir have made are even more creditable. In Fanaah, which is to be released this summer, he portrays the personal emotions of a terrorist in Kashmir.

Of course, films off the beaten track are not new to his career. He became a superstar with the phenomenal success of the tragic Romeo-and-Juliet story, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and went on to play all kinds of heroes at a time when it was most uncommon: from an underdog nice guy in Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander to playing a far from heroic persona in Rangeela and a reluctant hero in Ghulam.

He has focused on the history of the freedom struggle over the last few years, even producing Lagaan, a story not just of nationalism but of the pride-filled grit of common people at the bottom of an oppressive feudal order. Although it lacked adequate subtlety in the delineation of characters for global audiences, Lagaan was nominated for the best film in a foreign language at the 2002 Academy Awards.