Bollywood star Aamir Khan in Singapore: I was laughing at my character in 'Secret Superstar'
Bollywood actor, director and producer Aamir Khan spoke about the creative process behind his upcoming movie “Secret Superstar” and the Bollywood culture at a press conference in Singapore on Monday (2 October).
Here’s what the superstar had to say:
Promoting a film in Singapore for the first time
Usually we go to the US, the UK or the Middle East, but I wanted to try and reach out to newer audiences by going to markets that I have never promoted in before. Singapore was a location suggested by the film’s distribution team. After Singapore, I will be flying to Turkey.
Any plans to do a film in Singapore?
If the right script comes my way, I would love to. It’s a beautiful country and I believe filming here will be an amazing experience.
Takeaway from ‘Secret Superstar’
There is a lot that the film has to offer for the young crowd, not only about following your dreams, but about how you can face obstacles that come your way. I think they can relate to the 14-year-old protagonist’s struggle to break out of her constrained environment to fulfill her dreams.
His role in the film
At first, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to pull off this role well, because he is so different to what I’m like in real life. But once I started rehearsals, I realised that I really enjoyed playing this character. For once, I could be rude to people, be full of myself, and do all the things that I normally don’t do in life. It was fun.
Doing comedy
I love doing comedy, but haven’t really been able to play a very comedic character until “Secret Superstar”. After watching the film, even I was laughing at the character I played, which doesn’t usually happen.
Success of his previous film “Dangal”
I guess it appealed to many because the film told the story with a lot of humour, which is what connects with everyone worldwide.
I wish I knew what filmmakers can do to repeat the success of “Dangal”. The best we can do is to be a part of a story that connects with us, and then hope that it connects with audiences too.
Finding new talent
Last time, you had to really break into the industry before you could showcase your work. Now you have platforms where you can put up your work and if people like it, it could get viral. I think it’s a good opportunity for kids across the world who live in smaller cities to show their talent to everyone.
There is a dialogue in this film that I personally like and believe in: “Talent is like bubbles in soda – it comes out on its own, you can’t stop it.”
Co-star Zaira Wasim in “Secret Superstar”
She’s a very gifted child. When we were rehearsing for “Dangal”, I don’t think she took more than a week to master the dialect in the film, whereas it took me four months.
Acting with children
It’s great fun working with kids. They bring a lot of positive energy, spontaneity and fresh views on looking at scenes. It definitely helps me to grow as an actor.
Working against Bollywood’s norm of doing multiple films at same time
When I suggested to producers and directors to do just one film at a time, they found it very impractical because nobody was doing it in the industry. But I always felt (for a film) creatively and emotionally, I didn’t want to work like that.
So when I got the chance to call the shots as a producer, I told my crew to just concentrate on one project at a time as well. Now, almost everyone in the industry does this too.
Nepotism in Bollywood?
It doesn’t matter to me. If you’re right for the part, then you’re going to be in my film. For me, the project is above everything, even if you’re my family or friend. My production house (Aamir Khan Productions) tries to stick to what is right for the story, even in terms of casting. I think we are responsible to the audiences for that.
Biggest struggle
Balancing my professional and personal lives. I’m passionate about cinema and making films, so that takes up a lot of my bandwidth and attention. I tend to lose focus of my family and personal relationships. So now, I try not to schedule anything for two hours every day, just so I can spend some quality time with my son.
Aamir Khan’s “Secret Superstar” is slated for global release on 19 October.
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