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Mumbai, May 25:  Shah Rukh Khan may be the king of Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan its iconic ATM but, among actors, Aamir Khan is its chief mover and shaker. The term is often used for anyone influential but Aamir has, through his choice of roles and his professional attitude, literally moved the Hindi film industry in new directions and shaken up box office tastes.

Film-maker Anurag Kashyap says candidly that Aamir’s involvement in out-of-the-box projects like Rang de Basanti allow them to be made, since producers feel assured that his name on the banner will ensure a return on their investment. Indeed, market gossip has it that, when Rang de Basanti was strapped for funds at one stage, Aamir put in money to keep the project on track.

Not only has Aamir backed projects he believed in with his own money, he has as producer accepted innovation and professionalisation. In Lagaan, for example, he took the bold step of okaying synch sound. That immediately raised the profile of the sound technician in Bollywood.

Not only that, Kashyap adds that Aamir’s involvement in Lagaan made Shah Rukh do a Swades—to keep up with Aamir, as it were. Of course, whether or not they were influenced by Aamir’s example, other Bollywood stars, too, have made unconventional choices since he began. Hrithik Roshan not only demonstrated extraordinary acting calibre, but made a bold choice, potentially slippery for his superstar career, by taking the unconventional lead role in Koi Mil Gaya. And Rani Mukherji deserved the slew of best actor awards that she earned for Black.

It is tough for film-makers to make such films, for producers are most often happier with a script that follows a pattern already proven at the box office. While many film-makers believe that audience tastes change in response to socio-economic and other influences, producers can be relatively cynical. “The audience comes into the cinema without any expectation. They say, keep us entertained,” is how Adlabs chairman Manmohan Shetty sees film entertainment. In fact, he adds, “It will never happen that the audience will dictate what they want to see.”

Given this sort of attitude among producers and financiers, the weight of a star behind a script with an unproven theme or storyline could be a make-or-break advantage. For, as veteran television series’ director Siddharth Kak says, the drawing power of the film star is immensely greater than that of the television star, although the latter can seem much more intimate and real.

Since this larger-than-life image among audiences puts even greater pressure on the film star to keep his or her image intact, the choices that successful actors like Aamir have made are even more creditable. In Fanaah, which is to be released this summer, he portrays the personal emotions of a terrorist in Kashmir.

Of course, films off the beaten track are not new to his career. He became a superstar with the phenomenal success of the tragic Romeo-and-Juliet story, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and went on to play all kinds of heroes at a time when it was most uncommon: from an underdog nice guy in Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander to playing a far from heroic persona in Rangeela and a reluctant hero in Ghulam.

He has focused on the history of the freedom struggle over the last few years, even producing Lagaan, a story not just of nationalism but of the pride-filled grit of common people at the bottom of an oppressive feudal order. Although it lacked adequate subtlety in the delineation of characters for global audiences, Lagaan was nominated for the best film in a foreign language at the 2002 Academy Awards.

Mangal Pandey: The Rising was less successful than perhaps Aamir would have wanted, considering that he invested a couple of years and many inches of moustache on the project. However, Rang de Basanti appears to have made up for that, with audiences responding warmly to a focus on history that is both sparing and made thematically relevant to the current state of the nation.

All three of these films have had a “crossover” element, with foreign actors playing key roles. They have also been vigorously promoted in foreign markets. In Aamir’s career, they have demonstrated a clear interest in making a mark on the global screen, not just among the Indian diaspora, but in mainstream audiences abroad.

Rang de Basanti could also mark his emergence in a role few actors in the prime of a star career have played before: as mentor of fresh talent. While the gossip mills of Bollywood as much as Hollywood are kept spinning by stories about stars ensuring cuts in other actors’ lines, even scenes, or literally stealing the limelight, Aamir’s attitude to his fellow actors stands out as a sterling exception. So much space has he given them, not even insisting that he deliver the final explanatory lines, that three hitherto little known male faces have overnight become stars.

It is entirely possible then that, although he has never been the reigning superstar of the industry, Aamir might emerge as the leading impresario the way George Clooney has in Hollywood. 
 
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