I don’t know about every child, but yes.. every movie with which Aamir Khan has anything to do is definitely way more than just being special. I’ve been his fan –perhaps “fan” is not entirely justifiable, am his admirer- since I saw Ghulam, and ever since he has been delivering astounding, classy performance.. and mind you, not just in terms of acting but also production, and very recently with direction too. Rangeela, Ghulam, Raja Hindustani, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Mangal Pandey, Rang de Basanti, Fanaa- Munna, Siddhu, Raja, Bhuvan, Aakash, Mangal Pandey, DJ, Rehan. No similarity between any movie and character whatsoever, except that they all are played by one man.. common to all of these- Aamir Khan! These characters are as vivid and fresh in our minds as anything. This is versatility, not to undermine the underlying perfection. The guy has grown over the period of time.
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak came in 1988. It immediately was the hot favourite among youth of those times. It started myriad new trends. He was the style icon back then. Dil Chahta Hai came in 1999, almost 11 years later. Aamir was the hot favourite again. His style was again copied, profusely. He was again the style icon. RDB was trendsetter.
Circa 2008- Aamir is still the style icon. 20 years, and things have constantly been getting better. Yes, Yes.. I’m coming to TZP in a while. I do not care what he is doing in his personal life. We won’t mind him showing attitude in public and press alike. We do mind when he doesn’t do cheap publicity stunts, not showing himself too often, not giving many interviews, never talking about his films beforehand.. but that’s all because we love him. We can never have enough of him. And then if we look at things from his point of view, we are brimmed with awe.. sheer respect for his talents. Let my work -and not me- speak on my behalf. Sure he is hell correct in doing so. I don’t know about olden times, have not seen much of it. But whatever little understanding I have about cinema, I think he is the best product bollywood has ever been able to produce. There is a very little possibility of anyone coming close to him, nonetheless, I place Hrithik and Rahul Bose in the same category as him.. that is what Hollywood-wallas call “Method actors”.
***Time for a Break***
..And apparently that break lasted not just for few minutes or hours but days! I’ll not say much about Aamir now. I think I’ve already made my point, despite the fact that I’m still left with so much to write about him yet, nonetheless.. I’ll come to the point now.
Taare Zameen Per. You know, I always used to regret why I didn’t see the greatest movies ever made in theater.. not any more though. For once, I did watch this one in theater. And what an amazing experience it was! Totally worth of the money spent, rather more. First time ever, I witnessed the entire multitude of people with redden eyes. All this, with no deaths, no ultra-sensitive love story, no complex fiction.. nothing. That’s the beauty of perfection. Just a little dyslexic kid winning a painting event makes us all so ecstatic that we are filled with tears. Now I know why people cry when they are too euphoric.
There have been a few other movies which made me cry.. worth mentioning among them are Black[coz of its gloomy shades and apparent drama involved thereafter], some silly bollywood(shahrukh) stuff like Devdas, DTPH, KKHH. Among the Hollywood movies which brought tears to my eyes was Dead Poet’s Society. The movie was nowhere sentimental at all, except the last scene when Robbie Williams comes to collect his stuff for one last time and all students gives him a standing ovation, reciting Oh Captain, My Captain, just the way he taught them. Wonderful! Next I’ll place Cinderella Man and Gladiator. Russell Crow is God, like Al Pacino. And not to forget The Shawshank Redemption.
But all these movies had some real serious stuff. Jimmy was fighting for his life and more, Andy escaped from the prison after 20 years of innocence. Not TZP. It’s different from all of them. And hence it’s better, cinematically. That’s the magic of Aamir Khan. No gaudy starcast, no interviews before the movie release, no desperate publicity, no going to cricket and football matches.. Just plain and simple and superb direction. Mr. Shahrukh, you’ve got a lesson to learn, kindly concentrate on making the movie better, rather than doing all these. Trust me, that’s all that matters in the long run.
This proves that you can make movie on anything, provided if you’ve that talent and this kind of understanding about films. Aamir always had both, and he is quick learner too. He knows exactly where to strike, and this time.. with “what” to strike. There was no story in the movie, just screenplay, and a brilliant one. The cinematography, those close shots of Aamir’s watery eyes, and of Ishaan’s exasperated, troubled looks is more than brilliant. Even all the minor characters were damn so good!
Aah, the music. It’s not Shankar-ehsaan-loy’s, its Aamir’s, again. The best song is Mera Jahaan, with the voice of Adnan Sami.. that add special effects. As if Ishaan’s heart was singing it. Beautiful lyrics, courtesy Prasoon Joshi. He is the new gem of Indian cinema. How could anyone think of this line for a hindi song – sapno sa buna sweater sa warm! I’ve clue how creative he is. The other song ain’t too bad either. In fact every song is worth listening to a million times and more.
Movies can also be made with zilch glamour coefficient, and could be successful too. What we audience want is some non-iterative substance and real good acting. This one had a little overdose of both. And we loved it.
It’s getting too long. Just one last thing- if this movie is not able to bring home Oscar, no other bollywood movie will ever be able to.
Hail Aamir!
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