Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Aamir Khan

I was born here and I will die here: Aamir Khan

by

Aamir Khan

Mumbai/Jaipur: Actor Aamir Khan came under fresh attack on Monday for his “leaving India” comments in the “intolerance” debate with actor Akshay Kumar saying “ups and downs” happen in every country and one should not start giving “bold” statements.

Aamir, 50, whose comments while wading into the “intolerance” debate last November had kicked up a huge controversy, hit back, asserting he never meant that he wanted to leave the country or that India was intolerant.

“Any kind of ups and downs happen in every nation and you can’t get into so much straight away that you start giving such bold statements. These kind of things happen. There are so many good things also which we don’t speak about.

Unfortunately, we have the habit of only pointing out the wrong things but nevertheless everybody has the right to talk,” Akshay told India Today TV.

Veteran actor and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha said that it was “nadaan” (childish) for some in Bollywood to talk about intolerance and he does not agree with them.

“A lot of people from the film industry brought up the issues of intolerance in haste, and it is childish to do so. I don’t stand by them in this regard,” Sinha said at the Jaipur Literature Festival(JLF). Asserting that no other country is as diverse as India, Aamir said, “I was born here and I will die here.”

“I never said India was intolerant or I wanted to leave the country. I also understand the emotions of those who were hurt. I would like to say that my statement was misunderstood and to some extent media is responsible for it,” the “PK” star said.

(PTI)

Aamir Khan’s film ‘Dangal’ deserves ‘treatment’, says BJP leader

by

dangal

Indore: Super star Aamir Khan’s ‘intolerance’ remarks continue to haunt him with a senior BJP leader today suggesting “treatment” to his upcoming movie Dangal in the same way that was done to Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Dilwale’, whose business was marred by protests from Hindutva groups.

BJP general secretary Kaliash Vijayvargiya hinted at teaching a lesson to Aamir by saying at a public function that “treatment to one has been done. Now it is time for the other to be treated. ‘Dangal me mangal karna hai’. You should keep this in mind.

“When anybody says that intolerance is rising in our society, then it makes me a little angry. Then he has to be treated. His treatment is very necessary.”

Though he did not name either Shahrukh or Dilwale, his reference seemed to be aimed at him as his last movie was marred by protests at several places. Khan, too, had earlier spoken about rising intolerance in Indian, prompting the BJP leader to brand him a “traitor”, a remark he withdrew later facing public backlash.

Vijayvargiya’s remarks came a day after another party general secretary, Ram Madhav, had denounced Aamir Khan’s comments on ‘intolerance’, saying he should not preach about the country’s prestige only to an auto-rickshaw driver but also his wife.

(Agencies)

Amitabh Bachchan first choice to replace Aamir for ‘Incredible India’

by

Aamir Khan Amitabh Bachchan

New Delhi: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, brand ambassador of Gujarat tourism, is the Modi government’s first choice as the new face of its ‘Incredible India’ campaign after actor Aamir Khan ceased to be its mascot.

“Amitabh Bachchan will be the first choice of the ministry for the job,” a Tourism Ministry source said, adding actors Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra are among those under consideration.

He described the veteran actor as a “non-controversial” figure and noted that Bachchan was the key face for promotion of tourism in Gujarat which has seen an “upsurge” after he was hired by the state.

Khan, whose comments on perceived intolerance in the country had invited flak from BJP, ceased to be the mascot for the campaign as the contract for it expired.

“It was the (private) agency which has hired him. Since the contract with the agency is no more, automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists,” Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma had said yesterday.

Khan today said he respected the government’s decision to “discontinue” with his services while making it clear that he never charged anything for the ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ campaign.

“It is the prerogative of the government to decide whether they need a brand ambassador for any campaign, and if so, who that ambassador should be,” he said in a statement.

(PTI)

Controversy surrounding Aamir Khan’s comments politically motivated

by

Aamir Khan

by Sherful Islam

The so-called controversy surrounding Aamir Khan’s comments on growing religious intolerance in the country is unfortunate and politically motivated. What Khan said was nothing new. But when top star expressed alarm and despondency over the rise in the number of such incidences and said that his wife had even contemplated relocating to another country, he was only airing an opinion under the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Khan was not the first to speak out on the raging issue. His colleague, Shahrukh Khan, had echoed similar views. Several eminent writers, filmmakers, historians et al. have also given up their prestigious honours to inveigh against the government’s failure to respond with alacrity to such incidences. But instead of understanding why Aamir Khan went public with his comments and felt the way he did, a battery of angry posts on the social media, taunts and personal innuendos have welcomed him. What followed more were, inter alia, the calls to boycott his movies, stop using the e-commerce Snapdeal app, which he is brand ambassador of, and the latest by the right-wing Shiv Sena – offering Rs1 lakh to anyone who slaps him – which are nothing short of obnoxious.

So, what is causing more disquiet is that in today’s India, it has become next to impossible for anyone to freely air his/her opinions in public. Even the more worrisome trend is a section of ruling party leaders going hell for leather, accusing Khan of acting as an agent of the Congress and being part of its conspiracy to malign the Narendra Modi government. Some radical Hindu groups went to the extent of labelling him as an anti-national and asking him to leave the country. Mr. Perfectionist also came under attack from some of his Bollywood fellows, including Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal, who have been the staunch supporters of the current political leadership. But instead of threatening or bullying Khan, the government needs to reach out to him and ask what makes him stick his neck out and say so.

Intolerance debate getting chaotic: A R Rahman

by

ar rahman

Panaji: Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman on Tuesday said the intolerance debate in India is becoming “chaotic”, adding “we should set an example by resorting to non-violent ways to protest”.

“Any type of revolt should be classical. It is becoming very chaotic. People are hitting each other. We should set an example because we come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi. We have shown the world how all revolution can be done without violence,” Rahman said on the sidelines of Film Bazaar here.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s intolerance comments created a stir in the society with sections of political parties criticising him, and some supporting him.

Aamir had shared that his wife Kiran Rao suggested leaving India in the face of intolerance. The comments came after Shah Rukh Khan also faced public wrath over his “extreme intolerance” comment. He was termed a “Pakistani agent”.

Rahman, known as the ‘Mozart of Madras’, had also faced religious resistance over his “decision” to compose the music of “Muhammad: The Messenger of God”.

The artist with international recognition said: “I have gone through something similar sometime ago. And I then also mentioned that nothing should be violent.”

“We all are ultra civilised people. It is a chaotic protest . We should show to the world that we are one of the most civilised culture,” he said while addressing a session at the annual film market.

(IANS)

No intention of leaving country, proud to be Indian: Aamir Khan

by

Aamir Khan

Mumbai: Under attack over his remarks on intolerance, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today asserted that he stood by his comments and made it clear that neither he nor his wife Kiran Rao have any intention of leaving the country.

50-year-old Aamir, who drew flak from BJP and a section of film fraternity for expressing his “alarm and despondency” over the rise in recent incidents of intolerance, came out with a statement, saying he is “proud to be an Indian”.

“First let me state categorically that neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future.

“Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying,” he said.

The actor had kicked up a political storm with his remarks at a function in Delhi on Monday about his wife expressing fear for their child in the current atmosphere.

He had said, “Kiran and I have lived all our life in India. For the first time, she said, should we move out of India… She fears for her child, she fears about what the atmosphere around us will be.”

In his statement today, a defiant Aamir showed no signs of relenting in the face of fierce criticism.

“I stand by everything that I have said in my interview. To all those people who are calling me anti-national, I would like to say that I am proud to be Indian, and I do not need anyone’s permission nor endorsement for that,” he said.

BJP had hit out at Aamir, saying “Where will he and his family go other than India? There is no other better country like India and no better neighbour than a Hindu for an Indian Muslim. What is the situation in Muslim countries and Europe. There is intolerance everywhere.”

Shielding him from the attack, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had said the government should instead of branding all those who question it and the Prime Minister as “unpatriotic, anti-national or motivated” reach out to people to understand what’s disturbing them.

In his statement, Aamir said, “To all the people shouting obscenities at me for speaking my heart out, it saddens me to say you are only proving my point.” He also thanked those who stood by him.

“To all the people who have stood by me, thank you. We have to protect what this beautiful and unique country of ours really stands for. We have to protect its integrity, diversity, inclusiveness, its many languages, its culture, its history, its tolerance, it’s concept of ekantavada, it’s love, sensitivity and its emotional strength,” he said.

The actor ended his statement by quoting Rabindranath Tagore’s famous poem, “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, by narrow domestic walls, Where words come out from the depth of truth,

“Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way, Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, Where the mind is led forward by thee, Into ever-widening thought and action, Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.”

(Agencies)

Aamir Khan alarmed over intolerance, says his wife suggested leaving India

by

Aamir Khan

New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan on Monday joined the chorus of intelligentsia against growing intolerance, saying he has been “alarmed” by a number of incidences and his wife Kiran Rao even suggested that they should probably leave the country.

He also virtually supported those returning their awards, saying one of the ways for creative people to express their dissatisfaction or disappointment is to return their awards.

“As an individual, as part of this country as a citizen, we read in the papers what is happening, we see it on the news and certainly, I have been alarmed. I can’t deny. I have been alarmed by a number of incidents,” he said while speaking here at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards.

The actor said he also feels that the sense of insecurity and fear has been growing in the past six or eight months.

“When I chat with Kiran at home, she says ‘Should we move out of India?’ That’s a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day.

“That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm. You feel why this is happening, you feel low. That sense does exist in me,” 50-year-old Aamir said.

The actor said for any society, it is important to have a sense of security and sense of justice.

Taking potshots at politicians, he said “… People who are our elected representatives, people who we select to look after us for five years, state or centre… when people take law into their hands, we look upon these people to take a strong stance, to make a strong statement, speed up the legal process, when we see that happening there is a sense of security but when we don’t see that happening there is a sense of insecurity.”

Endorsing the move by scientists, writers and filmmakers to return their awards to register their protest against the atmosphere of growing intolerance, he said for creative people it is important to voice what they feel.

“A number of creative people — historians, scientists — increasingly had a certain feeling in them, which they felt they need to express. For creative people, one of the ways of expressing their dissatisfaction or their disappointment is to return their awards. I think that’s one way of getting your point across,” he said.

When asked whether he endorsed the protests by the people, Aamir said he would as long as it is non-violent as “all individuals have a right to protest and they can protest in any manner that they feel is right as long as they are not taking the law into their hands.”

(Agencies)

Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan together in a film?

by

Shahrukh-Khan-Salman-Khan-Aamir-Khan

Mumbai: We have been waiting for this for a long long time and finally it’s coming true. Apparently, Bollywood’s three Khans – Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir will be doing a film together.

According to a report published in a newspaper, producer Sajid Nadiadwala has been successful in bringing together the ruling Khans. This is the first time that the three Khans will be seen sharing screen space together.

It is not yet clear as to who will direct the film. But, it reportedly, will go on floors only in January 2017 and release in December that year.

Sajid Nadiadwala is a very close friend of Salman Khan and with the renewed friendship of the three Khans, the movie looks like a possibility.

(Agencies)

Nasheman.in Exclusive: "I am against banning any kind of material in media or films": Aamir Khan

by

Aamir-Khan-Kamal-Hassan

Aamir Khan, an actor par excellence, needs no fresh introduction as far as his repertoire is concerned. He is not known as a perfection personified persona just for nothing. That apart, over the years, he has maintained his own charm and got himself engulfed in a mysterious aura of his own. After all, in all his released films so far he has indeed maintained his box office score card with ‘3 Idiots’ and with the release of ‘PK’ he had his peculiar brand of audiences and his loving fans literally eating out of his hands. So much so that audience & fans are already waiting with batted breath for Aamir’s next movie in line namely ‘Dangal’. Besides he makes a rare public appearance, especially in an award ceremony or a filmy function. And one of those rare exceptional occasion was when he graced the inaugural function of FICCI Frames 2015 in Hotel Renaisance, Powai where he shared the dais in a single frame with Kamal Hassan, another stalwart of the Indian Cinema. Present herewith is the 1st person account of Aamir Khan’s dripping pearls of wisdom which reflected the varied issues that he is concerned with.

First & foremost coming down heavily on the Central Board of Film Certification, which recently stroked controversy by banning some objectionable words, Aamir Khan averred, “I am against banning any kind of material in media or films. I am totally against banning any kind of material. When the Information & Broadcasting Minister spoke to us, he also clarified that actually the ministry has no such list of cuss words. It’s a certification board and not the censor board. It was nice to hear that. Besides there were reports that the recently appointed Central Board Film Certification chairman namely Mr. Pahlaj Nihalani had revived a 2003 order to ban a list of 28 objectionable or cuss words, including Bombay in any movies or documentaries. But following a public outcry, Mr. Nihalani, has however, withdrawn the said list. That’s so nice of Mr. Nihalani. I would also like to state that even if people don’t like a certain content, banning a film cannot be justified, I am referring to the 2013 Kamal Haasan movie, ‘Vishwaroopam’ that had created quite a controversy leading to a ban. I am really, really feeling ashamed that at that time I was lost in my work but as an industry that was the time we had to come together. I apologize to Kamal Hassan publicly that I wasn’t there at that time. I feel bad that we weren’t there with you. Banning a film is not right. Once the film has received the certification, it is the responsibility of the state to make sure that people can watch the film without any fear. I would also like to stress that liking or disliking a film is one’s own prerogative, but stopping somebody from releasing a film is not right, specially after it has been through certification. Even otherwise movie bans are done by taking the law into your own hands, but I think this is really sad & unfortunate.”

As regards the outstanding Box Office collections (Read ‘PK) unlike most of his peers who are driven by the box-office collections, Aamir Khan averred, “Numbers hardly matter to me and it is not a criterion to select a movie based on its potential commercial success.

As I am not someone who talks about my numbers. That is the last thing on my mind when I am selecting a film. The day I start selecting a film on the possible commercial success that will be the end of my creativity. I feel that commercial interest stifles the creative growth.”

And as a parting shot Aamir Khan added just a few nuggets about his forthcoming movie namely ‘Dangal’, “I think rhat it is too early to speak about my forthcoming film ‘Dangal’. But I will just give you a brief insight. ‘Dagal’ will narrate the saga of a middle aged albeit an over weight wrestler. As everyone knows that I just love to experiment with my varied roles I have done so with the enactment of my role in ‘Dangal’ too. First of all I have put on a lot of weight as you can see, I weigh almost 90 kg and I won’t say that the rest you can see on the celluloid silver screen. There is still time for that suffice it to say that I will make more revelation about ‘Dangal’ at the right time and at some other point of time & place.”

50 plus Heroes ruling the roost In Bollywood

by

Earlier on our Bollywood actors had a very limited time span of their professional career. By the time they had crossed the 35 summers of their lives they either had to quit or switch to characters roles. And unconventional heroes in Bollywood firmament was a strict no – no. Only good looking so called chocolate heroes stood a chance to survive in the rat race to Stardom.

But since the last 1 decade this scenario of Bollywood has done a total & complete volte face. Let’s first take the example of Bollywood’s one & only midget hero Aamir Khan, who has just stepped into the 50th summer of his life. But much before that Aamir Khan had already started chartering his success route stardom with hard work and above all his sheer grit & determined resolve. And his repertoire of runaway successful films include ‘Taare Zammen Par’, ‘3 Idiots’ & ‘PK’ to name just 3 and his steady policy of doing only 1 film at a time also stood him in good stead. At this rate he is all set for a still longer innings at the box office turnstiles with his next upcoming project namely ‘Dangal’.

Apart from Aamir Khan it is Big B who is the classic example of this trend of 50 plus heroes ruling the roost. At 70 plus, Big B is still calling the shots on the big screen with his hit films like the sequel of ‘Bhootnath’ to name just one, on the small screen with all the Seasons of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC) and mini series of ‘Yudh’ and he is still going strong with many upcoming films in his kitty like ‘Piku’, ‘Wazir’, ‘Ghoomketu’, ‘Hasmukh Pigal Gaya’ et al. Not to forget the public issue short films and all the endorsements he keeps doing left, right & centre. All this is enough to give the younger breed of actors a run for their money.

Next in line is the ultra energetic actor like Akshay Kumar aka Akki. When he had made his debut eons ago in ‘Saugandh’, he had gone on record saying that he would be most happy if he could survive in tinsel town even for a decade. And look where he has reached now & how?. His successful films include ‘Boss’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’ & ‘Baby’ to name just 3. So even Akshay Kumar is all set to romance with lady luck for a long. Long time to come. Among the many upcoming films that he has lined up is ‘Airlift’ to name just 1.

The same is the case with Ajay Devgn who was ridiculed for his unconventional dark look since his ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ days. But he changed the entire conception in his stride. With his recent successful films like ‘Son Of Sardar’ and the ‘Singham’ series and upcoming films like his own directorial venture ‘Shivaay’ and many more. So now even he is set for a longer dalliance with the Goddess of box office.

And last but not least is undoubtedly our very own Sallu miyan nay Salman Khan who has created his own success history in spite of all the upheavals & roadblocks in his personal life as well as his professional career. Indeed this ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has given a real ‘Kick’ to all his detractors.

So here is a cautionary piece de resistance advice to all the younger heroes to take a leaf out of the above mentioned REAL HEROES or be prepared to quit, hang their boots or worst still get blown away with the wind. Period!

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives