Thinking outside the box
Aamir Khan believes there is ample creativity in Indian film industry
Khan will next be seen in Dangal. PHOTO: FILE
NEW DELHI:
Superstar Aamir Khan believes that, when it comes to churning out creative content and quality crafts that were the trademark of the 1960s, more and more people have taken to “challenging themselves” and “coming up with different stories.”
According to 3 Idiots star, the 1960s and subsequent years were the golden era of Indian cinema. But today, the industry is divided between people who do good work and those who do not. “Creative people and creativity were there before as well. Then, there were also people doing some good work and others doing some not-so-good work. I think it’s not out of nostalgia that we think that the movies of the 1960s were real and good. They were, indeed, and I am not denying that,” Khan said. “At that time, people had gone through a lot, risen from social upheaval, the Independence struggle was there, Partition had taken place recently. Therefore, that entire generation of people who were creative at that time, such as Sahir Ludhianvi and Majrooh Sultanpuri were very left wing people...”
The 51-year-old actor went on to say that he wished to have been born during that time. “Mehboob Khan sahab, K Asif, Guru Dutt... these are all people of that turbulent time, they grew up in that era. I feel that was the golden period of Indian cinema,” Khan added. “But I think that today, even more and more young people are coming up with different stories, challenging themselves and challenging the audience.”
Citing examples of his own films, Khan – who has acclaimed projects like Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti and Talaash to his credit – shared that not all films have advertisements. According to him, there are many creative people who genuinely love the film craft and their jobs.
“Today also, there a lot of creative people who love their art, their jobs and they do some crazy work. In films like mine, you won’t see advertisements. There are a lot of creative people. The movies I have worked in… look at the writers of those films, the stories that you liked or might have liked in which I have worked. They have been penned by other writers, not me,” Khan stated.
“These creative people, with whom I got the opportunity to work, are all different people so there are creative individuals in our industry. Besides, Marathi cinema today is coming up with really challenging work now too,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2016.
Superstar Aamir Khan believes that, when it comes to churning out creative content and quality crafts that were the trademark of the 1960s, more and more people have taken to “challenging themselves” and “coming up with different stories.”
According to 3 Idiots star, the 1960s and subsequent years were the golden era of Indian cinema. But today, the industry is divided between people who do good work and those who do not. “Creative people and creativity were there before as well. Then, there were also people doing some good work and others doing some not-so-good work. I think it’s not out of nostalgia that we think that the movies of the 1960s were real and good. They were, indeed, and I am not denying that,” Khan said. “At that time, people had gone through a lot, risen from social upheaval, the Independence struggle was there, Partition had taken place recently. Therefore, that entire generation of people who were creative at that time, such as Sahir Ludhianvi and Majrooh Sultanpuri were very left wing people...”
The 51-year-old actor went on to say that he wished to have been born during that time. “Mehboob Khan sahab, K Asif, Guru Dutt... these are all people of that turbulent time, they grew up in that era. I feel that was the golden period of Indian cinema,” Khan added. “But I think that today, even more and more young people are coming up with different stories, challenging themselves and challenging the audience.”
Citing examples of his own films, Khan – who has acclaimed projects like Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti and Talaash to his credit – shared that not all films have advertisements. According to him, there are many creative people who genuinely love the film craft and their jobs.
“Today also, there a lot of creative people who love their art, their jobs and they do some crazy work. In films like mine, you won’t see advertisements. There are a lot of creative people. The movies I have worked in… look at the writers of those films, the stories that you liked or might have liked in which I have worked. They have been penned by other writers, not me,” Khan stated.
“These creative people, with whom I got the opportunity to work, are all different people so there are creative individuals in our industry. Besides, Marathi cinema today is coming up with really challenging work now too,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2016.