Just the other day I was telling a friend that I am lucky my first ever crush in life was a film star and not a regular guy - for the simple reason that a regular guy would have broken my heart but with a crush on the teen idol Aamir Khan - I had nothing to lose.
I was about 12 years old when QSQT first hit the theatres. Although I remember watching it on video. Aamir’s first appearance in the song papa kehte hain and there were lot of girls who swoon over him including mua.
That apart Aamir’s acting was quite credible considering it was his first commercial film. Prior to that Aamir had worked in films like Holi and Raakh - which did not get him any mileage.
Aamir also made his presence felt as a child artiste in his Uncle’s film Yaadon Ki Baarat. And he was working with his Uncle as an assistant director before the acting bug bit him.
His cousin Mansoor Khan was making a foray into direction and after a proper screen test chose his cousin to play the lead. Juhi Chawla who had made a disastrous debut in Sultanat was cast opposite him.
An old-fashioned story with cliched characters this music worked mainly for its music and credible performances by the lead and the supporting actors.
After QSQT there was no looking back for Aamir. Although he did end up signing some silly films like Love Love Love and others ....
His next big film was Dil. This film was again a cliched love story with a rich girl and poor boy. The girl who hates the boy in the beginning of the film and ends up loving him ... parental objections ... and the works ....
Here again the music of the film worked wonders. As did the pairing of Aamir and Madhuri and the comedy in the film livened it up ....
When it comes to comedy, Aamir’s first multi-starrer Andaz Apna Apna is an unforgettable one in the list of favourite films. Salman, Raveena and Karishma co-starred in this film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Mad situations and even madder characters were the highlight of this film.
During this time Aamir decided to work on one film at a time. And after a couple of years he surprised audiences with John Matthew Mathan’s Sarfarosh. For the first time Aamir performed a serious character that lacked any glamour shades - except for one dream song....
And after this award winning performance came the two films that will be remembered by generations to come. Aamir Khan productions’ Lagaan and Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai. Two completely opposite films with different sensibilities and different settings seemed to offer to audiences a wide spectrum of Aamir’s acting capabilities.
Need I say more???