Newsmaker: Aamir Khan

The politically provocative actor

In 1988, a chocolatey actor made his big Bollywood debut with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and turned the cinematic trend of the time on its head. Indian cinema, which was caught in the whirlpool of the good-guy-versus-bad-guy movies, suddenly rediscovered the innocent romance of the 1960s. The actor was Aamir Khan, born Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan, then 23.

A game-changer though it was, QSQT - that's another trend the film started, of annoyingly abbreviating film names -was not Khan's first screen appearance. He had already had a taste of Indian cinema with Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) in which he played a child actor at the age of eight. A year later, he would appear in another Bollywood drama Madhosh.

In the years since, Khan has come a long, long way from his baby-faced image. At 50, he has emerged as one of the most political actors of our times. Whether it is through his films, the causes he associates with or his public utterances.

There was a time when while planning their guest list for prime time debates, even the most experienced television news anchors would impatiently brush off any suggestion to get Khan on the panel. He was considered too correct, too safe, too preachy - even holier than thou. There would no doubt be a scramble now to somehow get him on the show after a storm erupted around him spurred by his comments while speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award earlier this week. In one stroke, he changed the celebratory mood of the awards function when asked for his views on the "protests against growing intolerance" in India. "I do feel there is a sense of insecurity," he replied. "Kiran (Rao, his wife) and I have lived all our lives in India. For the first time, she said, 'should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make to me. She fears for her child."

His remarks have since invited a huge backlash. Actor Anupam Kher, who took to Twitter to vociferously counter Khan, says, "We worked together about 25 years ago . We were starting out in our careers and were spontaneous and fun-loving, constantly laughing and joking. Back then he was not the brand he is now." But as you mature, he says, you want to be a certain kind of person. "He too became a certain kind of person. Now that person I do not know. So, it would not be right for me to pass judgment on him."

Khan, a perfectionist, is known to push himself beyond new boundaries. If for Ghajini, he went for an intense fitness regime, for 3 Idiots, he worked hard to appear a college student at the age of 44. For his next film, Dangal, in which he plays a wrestler, he has beefed up to such an extent that at one point he found it difficult to walk.

He once said he cares less about the end result and more about the process of film making. He is also known to care little about film awards, most of which he shuns - unless they are national awards. In 2007, the actor also turned down an invitation to have his wax imitation installed at Madame Tussauds in London, saying that if people want to see him, they will see his movies. If people get offended by these decisions, it is their problem. And if his views on intolerance invite an intolerant response, well, then, as he says, it just proves his point.