RADIO SARGAM INTERVIEW: AAMIR KHAN!

Aamir Khan is ready to take on Bollywood and crossover cinema by the scruff of its neck with a film like The Rising. He follows it up with a film with Rakesh Mehra and one more with Yashraj Films. We met the actor in a candid mood… and talked about history, historicals and his future…

Excerpts from an interview...

Why did you take on a film like The Rising after doing films like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai?
Basically I liked the script of the film. I was intrigued by the incidents that took place such a long time ago. I could identify with it in today’s context. The East India Company came to India for purposes of trade and then took over the nation. The United States of America is doing similar things today. They did that with Vietnam and alter with Iraq. The basic concept of Mangal Pandey alias The Rising is about Freedom.

What we call as the 1857’s Indian War of Independence or the National Uprising is deemed as the Sepoy Mutiny by the British. What are you trying to say through the film Are you trying to set history right?
See, In India we have never had the tradition of writing thing properly in the history books. Whatever has taken place has been through word of mouth. Matter of fact being that we do not have a single photograph of Mangal Pandey in our archives. We have taken stuff that ahs been written down in the history books and then borrowed from stories that have been coming up by word of mouth. Historical documents on Mangal Pandey are very limited and that was one problem that both director Ketan Mehta and writer Farookh Dhondy had when they started work on the film. Hence it was decided to keep Mangal Pandey as a part of all the events happening around that time. It was a time of awakening at that juncture. People wanted reforms. They wanted a break and freedom from the East India Company. So everyone was asking questions and Mangal Pandey was the voice. Everyone wanted explanations for the activities of the East India Company and the kind of activities that they were into.

Do you think that there will be many more historicals following Mangal Pandey?
I do not know whether there would be a spate of historicals after Mangal Pandey. We have done what we had to do in a very realistic manner and have worked sincerely on the film. I do not know whether these kind of projects work or not. It depends on how the audiences react to this film. Only then will I be able to tell you whether similar films will be made.

Why are you having such a huge gap between your films? Is the hibernation a deliberate one?
I know that there should not be much of gap between films. But it thus happened that The Rising took a while in the making. It is not an easy film to do. Dil Chahta Hai followed soon after Lagaan and there has been a long hiatus after that. Normally I do not have much gap between my films, but in this case it was inevitable. I was going through turmoil in my personal life and thus could not concentrate on my films. Filmmaking is a very tedious process, which needs a lot of concentration. That is why I could not do any film for a while. After I decide to do any film, it takes around eight months of pre-production, a similar time for the shooting and some more time for the film to be ready. Thus it takes around two years for a film to be ready if it has me acting in it. So, coming to the point, I do not do more than one film at a time. Usually, I start shooting for the other films when I finish one and this could not be possible. From now on, I should have a release very eight months. I am starting my next film in January 2005.

Are you being extra choosy?
It is not that I have deliberately being too choosy. But it is jus that the films are also coming in slowly. It is not that I have had to do a big project. I got the offer for Mangal Pandey which was a big project on its own. I didn’t make it into a big film. I have it in my mind to do all kinds of movies. I want to do many roles.

A lot of filmmakers don’t come to you thinking that you would only do big projects. Is that true?
Not at all. In fact I want to do all kinds of movies. I am prepared to do every kind of film. If I listen to a film and it touches my heart I shall do it. It doesn’t matter if it is small film or a big one. I want to do small films, romantic comedies etc. But I need a role like that and need to be moved by the role as well. I am also doing one more romantic film now. That will be after I do Rakesh Mehra’s film Rang De Basanti alias Paint it Yellow. It is a film for Yashraj, directed by Kunal Kohli and has Kajol in it. If anyone has a good role and wants me to do it I am game, if the director can move me with his story.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RADIO SARGAM