Two decades ago on June 15, Aamir Khan starred in sports movie Lagaan which went onto become one of the most iconic and celebrated blockbusters of Bollywood. Now, as the film has just completed 20 glorious years, Aamir Khan spoke to the media celebrating the two decades of the film.
When asked if he looks for issue-based stories as an actor, Aamir Khan said, “No I don’t look for issue-based stories because my job is to entertain people. The primary role of cinema is to entertain. When a person buys a ticket and comes to the theatre or watches it on Netflix or any platform, he is not coming there for a lesson in sociology or a lesson in psychology. He will go to college for that. He will take admission in the college for that. Why has he come to the theatre? Why is he on Netflix or Amazon? Because he wants entertainment.
“So my primary responsibility as an entertainer is to entertain. I am very aware of that. I cannot bore you whatever happens. Within that, within entertaining you, if I get the opportunity, a story comes my way which also is saying something very important then I jump at it. Dangal – stories like that,” he added.
“For that matter, Lagaan, 3 Idiots – they are saying something very important but they are also entertaining you. 3 Idiots is not only giving you gyaan, it’s actually entertaining you. You are getting that knowledge with that, its making you realize ‘why am I doing this?’ So, my attempt as an entertainer is to entertain, that’s my primary responsibility. However, I am aware that because of the position I am in, if I choose films which are not only entertaining but they also have something important to say, sone pe suhaga,” he said.
He added “Like for example, when I select a film like Delhi Belly , why am I selecting Delhi Belly ? I love the story, it’s funny, it’s irreverent, and it’s great. Is it giving a message? No! It’s not giving a message, but I want to do it. That’s a part of me who loves this also. I want mad humour, you know I also like mad humor. So there are different aspects to me as a human being, as a creative person and I satisfy all of that but to assume that I pick scripts only based on messages is wrong. I don’t pick films on messages. When directors or writers come to narrate to me, I have no idea what’s he going to read. I just react as an audience. I enjoy it. ‘Ok, he is saying something important, very good! Ok, he is not saying anything important but it’s entertaining, we will do it, no tension!’”
Coming back to Lagaan, the film celebrated two decades on June 15. It revolved around the British Raj when a farmer named Bhuvan accepts the challenge of Captain Andrew Russell to beat his team in a game of cricket and enable his village to not pay taxes for the next three years. The film starred Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne.
More Pages: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India Box Office Collection , Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India Movie Review
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