QSQT -’Kahte hain dubte hue suraj ke saath tasveer rakhne se aadmi ki umar kam ho jati hai
Munna in – Rangeela’Aye, tu movie dekhne aaya hai ya meri taang’
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INTRODUCTION*
Let me start off with a confession. I am not a regular hindi film viewer. I see as many hindi films as I could and really go for some real good films, when I have a chance. I do not really go for FDFS on Hindi Movies. I learnt my basics by watching the TV and I used to watch quite a lot of hindi movies shown by doordarshan. I started watching hindi movies on theatre only in late 80s and early 90s. Thanks to the cable TV, I watched many hindi movies over the years. There are very few actors whom I really enjoy watching in Hindi. Aamir Khan is ofcourse one of them. In my opinion, he is one of the most versatile actors in Bollywood, albeit acting in very few movies compared to others. Here is a review on what I think of him.
AAMIR KHAN - A PROFILE
He was born on 14th March 1965 to a bollywood family. He is the son of a producer and nephew of a hit film-maker. He entered bollywood as a child artiste in Yaadon Ki Baarat which was an instant hit. He later became the Maharastra Tennis champion before moving to fulltime movies. His first movie as an adult, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was one of the greatest hit of 80’s. It was made his cousin Mansoor Khan . This film was the launch pad for Mansoor, Aamir as well as the chubby Juhi Chawla(The only Miss India who could really act, besides the great Nutan, in my opinion). He later learnt the’Method School’ of acting followed by the likes of Al Pacino et al, from Lee Strasberg School of acting. He has acted in some 34 movies to date and has written the screenplay for’Hum hain Rahi Pyar Ke’, besides producing a few. He became a’Padma Bhushan’ in 2003 following his grandeur double success in the form of’Dil Chahta Hai’ and’Lagaan’.
AK - In my perspective.
Before I present to you the 5 best of Aamir, it is quite diffiult to choose five for he is a trained actor in ’Method School’ of acting. I will not be doing a complete justice to his portfolio as I haven’t seen all his films. From what I saw, I feel that he is quite versatile and well rounded. Not many actors provide you with broad entertainment like he does. He can do comedy really well, so can he do serious acting. Aamir’s looks gives him a great advantage as look like a young chap. Take’Dil Chahta Hai’ for example. He passes very much for a college graduated chap. As he is very choosy about roles, he once rejected the role to utter’k.k.k.k.k. kirann’ to SRK in’Darr’. I really do not know if he could have done better, but his image was far higher at the point of time before SRK’s stock rose.
I strongly feel that he should act more and more in a lot of good movies. He is losing out a lot on popularity as he is more keen on quality over quantity. It is his own calling and I feel that he will become’Mangal Pandey’ in’The Rising’.
Without further adieu my list of 5 best from AK
~Andaz Apna Apna~- Directed by the evergreen Raj Kumar Santoshi was a box office dud. It is quite surprising for it was a classic movie rejected by audience. This was a classic experimentation by Raj and AK has given one of his best performances in this film as Amar. This film is a classy comedy that can make you laugh in your dreams. It is not typical David Dhawan - Kader Khanesque hoax but a classy one. Salman Khan as Prem has also done well. Paresh Rawal was exceptional in this film. Aamir was exceptional and this is the film where he broke all his moulds as a romantic hero. Santoshi’s experimentation of picturizing songs in an old fashioned way didn’t bear him fruits. AK was excellent in this memorable film.
~Akele Hum Akele Tum~ - Directed by his cousin Mansoor Khan, this film was bollywood version of’Kramer Vs Kramer’ that won Dustin Hoffmann an oscar. Manisha was kind of a misfit for a role that could’ve been done exceptionally by Madhuri Dixit. AK becomes Rohit in this film. His care for his son was very much evident in this film. This was another box office dud but I could still remember many scenes from this film. A classic film by AK. The screenplay lost a little bit of steam from the hollywood original due to unwanted inclusion of songs and all. The song Aditya & Udit Narayan still rings in my memory. A classic AK film
~ Rangeela~ - Directed by Ram Gopal Varma. This film was more of AK film than it was a RGV film or ARR film or an Urmila Film. AK becomes Munna, a pukka mumbaikar. His Mumbaiyya was classic and his acting was great. He gave his full while acting in this film. I felt it was one of a kind where everyone was at their best. It is a dream entertainer. This is the only hindi film which contains a song that I know by heart. RGV’s direction was path breaking for hindi cinema, so was ARR’s music. A lot of things developed out of this movie. I can still remember the expressions that Munna(AK becomes munna) in this film. Especially when he sees Mili is being pursued by Rajkamal and all. Classic scene is where he and Mili talk in the footsteps of Mili’s house. I can go on and on. Oh well, I shall pen a review on the same, later. Rangeela is one of my all-time favorite movies and will remain so. You may have to forgive the thin story-line
~Sarfarosh~- This is one movie that I saw on the very second day, thanks to my friends. This film was directed by a long-time ad film maker John Mathew Maththan and was enthralling in many scenes. More than anything else, it was AK’s depiction as ACP Ajay Singh Rathod that stole the thunder. This movie is a classic example for how AK can be exceptionally brilliant in serious acting. The storyline was exceptional. How many medical students become IPS officers these days? AK became ACP rathod in many ways. Sonali was not a glamour doll for probably the only time in her career. Naseeruddin Shah was great as cunning singer. The beautiful scenes of Delhi in winter are still in my memory. An exceptional film by AK.
~Dil Chahta Hai~- can be called as the best for both AK and Preity Zinta together. Debut director Farhan Akhthar’s film is a smashing one that it broke the odds of conventional bollywood film making. Though he was 36-37 at the time of the film, AK looks and passes well for the role of a youngster. Preity Zinta was a dream pair for AK and the storyline was tightly engrained in the form of entertainment. The story never loses stream(except for a song and the opera in Sydney, in my opinion). Akash, Sameer, Sid and Shalini live in our memories for some terrific performances. This film is a great entertainer and AK’s acting is the best.
CONCLUSION
Though many of you have your own choices, I personally feel that these are the five best of AK. I agree that there could’ve been better performances in the movies I haven’t seen or thought of including. In my opinion, these are the best.
I did think of including 19 47 - Earth(1998), Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke(1993), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander(1992), Lagaan(2001), Ghulam(1998) but I felt they fell short of what I included. I have been hearing that he was excellent in Raakh and Dil Hain Ke Maanta Nahin but didn’t see them at all.
I hope you liked the review. Do comment if time permits
KALIL
From Dil’Woh aa ke gire hum pe, bijli ke khambe ki tarah, khuda ki kasam current kha ke maza aa gaya’