‘Aamir Held Me Up When I Was Breaking Down’

‘I
was
in
serious
depression
during
the
shooting
of

Jo
Jeeta
Wohi
Sikandar.’
‘I
realised
that
this
is
not
the
film
I
wanted
to
make.
Aamir
told
me
we
will
redo,
remove
eight
key
characters
and
reshoot.’
‘He
gave
me
the
confidence
and
told
me
it
was
a
timeless
script.’

Cousins
Aamir
Khan
and

Mansoor
Khan
grew
up
together.

They
started
their
film
careers
with
the
smashing
hit

Qayamat
Se
Qayamat
Tak
that
ushered
the
era
of
romantic
films
and
unforgettable
music.

Aamir
stormed
into
audiences’
hearts
and
went
on
to
work
in
Hindi
cinema’s
most
successful
films.

Mansoor
Khan
turned
his
back
on
the
movies
after
directing
four
films
and
moved
to
a
quiet
hill
station.
He


bought
cows,
started
a
home
stay
and
made
cheese.

He
also
wrote
two
books

The
Third
Curve:
The
End
Of
Growth
As
We
Know
It
and

One:
The
Story
Of
The
Ultimate
Myth.

“If
anyone
criticises
my
films,
I
don’t
get
upset,
but
if
they
criticise
my
books,
I
am
ready
to
drink
their
blood,”
he
says
with
a
laugh.

One
is
slated
to
be
made
into
a
film
by
Aamir
later
this
year.

Over
the
years,
Mansoor
Khan
has
continued
to
provide
feedback
on
Aamir’s
projects
and
sat
on
script
narrations.

He
has
keenly
followed
his
younger
cousin’s
career,
watched
his
movies
and
revelled
in
his
performances.

As
Aamir
approaches
his
60th
birthday
on
March
14,
Mansoor
discusses
the
Aamir
Effect
on
Hindi
cinema
with



Rediff.com‘s

Archana
Masih,
“When

Laal
Singh
Chaddha
failed,
he
took
the
blame
himself
and
did
not
hold
anyone
else
responsible.
In
fact,
he
had
a
failure
celebration
party
for
the
film.
The
setback
hurt
him
because
it
was
very
close
to
his
heart.
It
had
always
been
his
cherished
dream
to
make

Forrest
Gump
in
Hindi
since
the
film
came
out
(1994).”

Aamir
has
done
excellent
films
over
the
years.
One
of
the
characters
that
stand
out
for
me
is
Inspector
Surjan
‘Suri’
Shekhawat
in

Talaash
directed
by
Reema
Kagti.

He
underplays
the
stoic
character
of
the
cop,
yet
emotes
his
feeling
and
how
it
is
breaking
the
relationship
with
his
wife.

It
is
fabulous.
Full
credit
to
the
writer
and
director.

Bhuvan
in

Lagaan
is
another
character
that
Aamir
understood,
identified
and
played
completely.

In
playing
Mahavir
Phogat
in

Dangal,
he
depicted
the
wrestler
both
as
a
young
and
old
man.
(Aamir
first
increased
his
weight
to
nearly
100
kgs
for
the
older
man’s
role
and
then
lost
weight
to
play
the
younger
man.)

I
know
he
can
play
the
character
of
the
naughty
boy,
or
the
tough
guy,
but
these
roles
were
totally
different.

He
is
open,
experimental
and
likes
to
explore
well-defined
characters.

The
script
is
king
for
Aamir.
It
is
what
comes
first,
followed
by
the
director,
producer
and
so
on.

Lagaan
and

Taare
Zameen
Par
are
two
good
examples
of
his
inclination
for
being
experimental.

His
commitment
to
a
role
can
also
be
gauged
through
the
hard
work
he
put
in
building
a
muscular
physique
in

Ghajini.

He
also
likes
to
explore
odd
characters
like
he
did
in

PK
and

Laal
Singh
Chaddha.

In
his
office,
there
are
photographs
showing
him
in
various
roles
played
over
the
years
and
this
is
what
sets
him
apart.

He
is
not
like
any
regular
hero.
He
has
played
a

tapori
in

Rangeela,
a
mad
comic
in

Andaz
Apna
Apna,
a
villager
during
the
Raj
in

Lagaan,
a
revolutionary
in

Mangal
Pandey…
and
has
continued
to
do
great
work
despite
a
couple
of
setbacks
and
dips.

He
is
also
honest.

When

Laal
Singh
Chaddha
failed,
he
took
the
blame
himself
and
did
not
hold
anyone
else
responsible.
In
fact,
he
had
a
failure
celebration
party
for
the
film.

The
setback
hurt
him
because
it
was
very
close
to
his
heart.
It
had
always
been
his
cherished
dream
to
make

Forrest
Gump
in
Hindi
since
the
film
came
out
(1994).
He
was
so
fond
of
it,
had
invested
and
had
put
so
much
into
it.

QSQT,
where
it
all
began…

My
father
(producer-director
Nasir
Hussain)
was
writing

Qayamat
Se
Qayamat
Tak
for
Aamir.
I
was
surprised
when
Aamir
said
he
wanted
to
act
because
he
was
such
a
shy
boy.

Daddy
had
seen
a
video
film
that
I
had
made
with
background
music
and
thought
I
had
the
ability
to
direct.
I
knew
I
could
tell
stories
and
my
dad
saw
that
and
asked
me
to
direct

QSQT.

Meanwhile,
I
was
writing

Jo
Jeeta
Wohi
Sikandar
which
was
a
complex
film
and
somewhat
based
on
my
life
—
about
a
careless
and
irresponsible
guy.

When
daddy
narrated
the
first
11
scenes
of

QSQT,
I
loved
it
because
I
love
characters.

The
film
was
a
success
but
I
was
an
inadvertent
filmmaker.

The
only
film
I
wanted
to
make
was

Jo
Jeeta
Wohi
Sikandar
which
was
not
a
commercial
success.

But
today
it
is
regarded
as
a
cult
film.

‘Aamir
held
up

Jo
Jeeta…
when
I
was
breaking
down’

Aamir
made
a
solid
contribution
to

Jo
Jeeta
Wohi
Sikandar.
He
literally
held
it
up
while
I
was
breaking
down.

I
reshot
45-50
days
of
tough
shooting
and
removed
eight
key
characters.
Aamir
was
the
guy,
who
gave
me
the
confidence
to
do
that
and
told
me
it
was
a
timeless
script.

He
recognised
it,
I
didn’t.

I
was
in
serious
depression.
I
used
to
get
up
during
the
shoot
in
Ooty
and
cry
helplessly.

When
we
returned
to
Bombay,
I
realised
that
this
is
not
the
film
I
wanted
to
make.
Aamir
told
me
we
will
redo,
remove
the
actors
and
reshoot.
This
is
the
kind
of
clarity
he
had.

He
was
always
a
cinema
buff
and
loved
storytelling.

Aamir’s
reaction
to
Mansoor
leaving
films
and
moving
to
the
Nilgiris

He
always
knew.

I
was
the
son
of
a
successful
writer,
director,
producer
but
cinema
was
not
my
interest
or
ambition.
I
had
the

bhoot
of
engineering,
computers,
electronics.

I
am
a
professional
dropout.

I
dropped
out
of
IIT,
Cornell,
MIT…

So
when
I
returned
from
America,
I
was
full
of
guilt
that
I
had
wasted
so
much
of
my
parents’
money
and
wanted
to
prove
myself.

I
was
not
affected
by
the
success
of

QSQT
and
was
ready
to
live
in
a
boat
on
the
sea.

I
always
wanted
to
escape,
so
Aamir
wasn’t
surprised.

He
would
have
liked
me
to
be
in
Mumbai
and
make
some
good
films
together.

I
told
him
I
couldn’t
make
a
good
film
any
more
—
that
Mansoor
was
gone.

[Mansoor
Khan
returned
after
a
hiatus
to
co-produce
the
hit
film
Jaane
Tu…
Ya
Jaane
Na
which
was
his
nephew
Imran
Khan’s
debut.]

The
Aamir
Effect

Aamir
has
set
the
bar
for
professionalism,
giving
all
his
time
and
attention
to
the
film
he
is
involved
in,
from
the
inception
to
the
end.

He
is
willing
to
take
risks
as
long
as
he
believes
in
the
story.

He
has
a
very
good
way
of
dealing
with
people.

He
gives
his
all
and
he
takes
it
to
its
end.