The celebrations of festive season are incomplete without the release of Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan’s film Thugs of Hindostan. And with all of his films doing well at the box office lately, the expectations have risen even higher.After gathering praise for films such as Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, 3 Idiots, Ghajini, Dhoom 3, PK, Talaash, Secret Superstar and Dangal, Aamir is back in a totally new avatar. The Yash Raj Films production, Thugs of Hindostan, that released this Friday also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh in prominent roles.
In the film directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, also known as Viktor, Aamir will be seen essaying the role of a sea pirate. The actor, who has been choosing out-of-the-box roles, says such characters interest him. “I don’t feel any pressure while shooting. In fact, the pressure starts mounting when the films are up for release. With this film, the stress is even more because the audience is expecting a lot,” he adds.
The 53-year-old actor reveals that the best thing about his character, Firangi, is that he celebrates himself. “The role was risky as I am playing a negative hero. He’s a selfish person with no emotions and morals. It was fun doing the film,” he says.Though his character in the film is being compared to Jack Sparrow played by Johny Depp in Hollywood film Pirates of the Caribbean, Aamir refutes claims of any such similarities. He says, “Firangi can’t be compared to Jack Sparrow. My character will make you forget Jack Sparrow.”
The experimental actor’s quirky look has gained a lot of attention. He says, “The look was designed by costume designers Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma and director Viktor. The only thing I decided was the nose ring. When I was in school, a classmate used to wear a nose ring that always fascinated me. So, I designed one for this role. It is in the shape of a flower and has green and red stones. I have also pierced my ears. That was painful and troublesome. I had even grown long hair for the film, but now I have chopped them as I personally don’t like long hair.”
This is the first time Aamir will be seen sharing screen space with Amitabh Bachchan in his 25-year career.Aamir says he’s always been awestruck by ‘Amjitji’. “I am his huge fan and was excited to work with him. But during the first shot—where we look at each other and circle each other and I present him the sword—I was very nervous. I used to ask him a lot of questions on the sets. Once when we were shooting in Malta, I asked him to go for a movie with me. He looked at me for a while and said yes, but he asked which movie. I said Wonder Woman.
He said let’s call for the car and security. And I was like no we will walk to the theatre. It was fun,” he adds.Bachchan is known for doing a lot of rehearsals before the shoot, while Aamir is not much of a
rehearsal person. He says,“Amitji rehearses his scene at least 50 to 60 times. He used to learn his lines and I would sit and give him his cues.”
Aamir feels dancing with a superstar like Amitji was not easy too. “I am not a good dancer. I had to practice a lot before I performed with him. But I enjoyed it.”His next project will be Jolly LLB 2 director Subhash Kapoor’s film Mogul. The film based on Gulshan Kumar’s life will release next year.