Aamir Khan: “I Am Afraid Of Things I Cannot Control”

Aamir has been receiving a lot of praise recently, from being called a ‘perfectionist’ to the ‘guy with the Midas Touch’, but the man of the moment takes it all in his stride and attributes his rise to his parents . He fondly remembers his mother, “I strongly believe in karma. A lot of what I am is because of my mom. Ammi is a very fine human being, I’ve learnt a lot from her. My upbringing was such that we never boasted about what we were good at. I’ve never heard Lata Mangeshkar or Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar gloating about being the best or number one. I think its insecurities and fear that fuel pride.”

Then what is Aamir Khan afraid of? He thinks for a bit and then answers, “I’m afraid of things I cannot control. I’m scared of losing the people close to me.” What about opening collections, audience reactions, box office reports- is he scared of them too? “I’m tensed for almost 10 days after the movie releases, and then I settle down. It takes a lot of reassurance before I finally let it sink in. I watch a film with the audiences. Not once, but multiple times: in single screen theaters, multiplexes…”

Aamir gets his share of adulation from the audience through the box-office, then why does he distance himself from industry award functions? Aamir rolls his eyes exaggeratedly and laughs, “How many times do I have to over this? I don’t value these awards, then what’s the point in me going? I’ve been to Dinanath Mangeshkar awards and Golapuri awards, but I need to feel that the organization has regard and respect for me to be a part of it. And I go to these functions whether I win them or not.”

In the end, Aamir fondly remembers his childhood. “I was passionate about sports. I enjoyed them. I loved flying kites and playing with marbles. I was very fond of lawn tennis and was even a state level player,” he recounts.

– By Komal Nahta