Aamir Khan: TV show is my most ambitious project

MUMBAI:

After Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan, it’s Aamir Khan’s turn to make his debut on the small screen. The actor will be seen in a yet-to-be titled show which he calls his ‘most ambitious project’.

The production of the show is yet to start and it will go on air next year. It is being jointly produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Star India. “This show is my most ambitious project; it began as a dream some three to four years ago. Uday (Shankar of Star) coaxed me with the idea that I should think of dominating television now. That is how the spark ignited. After that meeting I actually started thinking about it passionately,” Khan revealed.

“I have been offered game shows before, but I didn’t find them very exciting, not that they weren’t good but personally doing the same thing everyday didn’t excite me much. So that is how I started to think and brainstorm for an innovative concept. Moreover, I have realised in all these years that TV is a very strong and powerful medium and I should make use of this platform to reach a larger audience,” he added.

Known as ‘Mr Perfectionist’ in Bollywood, Khan says, “I do not think my entry in television is late. I feel everything has a right time. My venture into television is not calculative. There is nervousness, but I am excited and charged up about the show.”

“I was sure that if I would do something on television then it has to be different, it has to be something that will connect with the audience,” Khan states.

The 3 Idiots actor further added, “I am sure I will face difficulties when it comes to television. It is a field I know very little about. Fortunately, the people I am interacting with are very intelligent. So I am getting to learn every day. I am trying to absorb as much as I can.”

The show will bring real stories and emotions of people on the small screen and for the 46-year-old it is a dream come true. “Honestly I take time to make up my mind and it’s like a dream come true for me. I have been living it and breathing it during all these years,” said Khan.

Uday Shankar, CEO Star India, calls it a pan-India show. It will be telecast in eight different languages. “It’s a pan-India show. The show has been woven around Aamir, it is his vision. He did not want language to act as a barrier, he said ‘I want all your regional channels for this show’,” Shankar said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2011.