Gandhiji inspires me: Aamir Khan

You can run but you can’t ignore the magic that runs in the air when Aamir Khan is around. His films 1947: Earth, Sarfarosh, Lagaan, Mangal Pandey- The Rising, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa and Taare Zameen Par show his ability to experiment as an actor in a world full of ‘formulas.’ Considered one of India’s most ambitious actors, Aamir has always made an effort to raise the bar.

But according to him, his belief in doing things differently has come a long way, “I don’t do different things; I try to do it in a different manner. I think every person should follow his/her dream.” Talking about the success his so-called “different” movies have achieved, he says, “I think, the audiences have really changed as they want to see a variety of cinema. Today’s moviegoers are mature and practical. They don’t want the stereotype stuff to be played and that’s why films with unusual subjects are being appreciated and accepted.”

Interestingly, the end result doesn’t really matter much for him. He confirms, “For me, the process is more important, more joyful. I would like to have my entire concentration on the process right from the first step. But I would like to add, I am not a multi-tasker. I focus my efforts on one task at a time.”

Aamir is famous for his views on a number of subjects like the Narmada issue, the Olympic Torch relay and the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. “I am not a social activist. But, if there’s any issue that I feel strongly about, I can give a voice to it. Will I take up other issues in future? Yes, if and when I feel like.” Ask him what/who inspires him and he is quick to respond, “Gandhiji is one person who inspires me!”

Currently shooting in Bangalore for 3 Idiots, he says, “I am having a great time shooting at IIM Bangalore. Since I am also staying on the campus, I save on travel time and as a result I am finally getting time to sleep! Raju Hirani is an absolute delight to work with and so are the rest of the cast and crew.”

And he definitely enjoys being with management students. “In Ahmedabad, I was a teacher and I didn’t get much time to interact with the students. But in IIM, Bangalore, I play badminton and chess with them. It’s fun!”

His passion for cricket was well noticed when he was spotted with Sachin Tendulkar at the IPL matches last year, but not many would know about Aamir’s well-thumbed, eclectic collection of books ranging from PG Wodehouse, Gore Vidal, Mushirul Hasan’s volume on the Partition, Vijay Nambisan’s take on Bihar, Salman Rushdie’s The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Pico Iyer’s Falling Off The Map to a collection of the masterpieces of patriotic Urdu poetry that he safely stacks beneath his chessboard! What is he reading right now? “I’m reading a great book called India After Gandhi, by Ramchandra Guha. It is a book on Indian History post 1947. Must say, it’s very informative!”