BENGALURU: Actor and filmmaker Aamir Bashir has been travelling a lot these days and appears visibly tired. But he was thankful that his movie Maagh (2022), an independent film based on the turmoil in Kashmir, was finally being screened in Bengaluru. What took so long? “There are no takers for the film for its sensitive content,” says Bashir in a matter-of-fact manner.
The movie touched many in the audience – post the screening when the lights were turned on, it took some time for the audience to process what they watched before bursting into an applause. Some of the Kashmiris even broke down while narrating their stories. Bashir stayed calm and patient, listening to all of them. “People like us don’t have any closure. Sharing stories is what we have,” says Bashir, who wrote the screenplay of the film.
Having grown up in the Valley, and later moving to Delhi for education and then to Mumbai for work, he has the advantage of telling the Kashmir story from the perspective of both an insider and an outsider. But while writing a script he does not analyse perspectives but rather goes with the flow. “I could not analyse these things during that time. I am discovering new things that people have noticed and were not thinking about. I am not a screenplay writer; when I am writing I think whether I can execute this or not,” he adds. Bashir’s first film Harud, a Kashmiri movie, won the National award for the best feature film in Urdu in 2013.
The actor has been part of many successful commercial films, the recent most popular one being Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) where he played the role of Tijori Randhawa, Ranveer Singh’s disciplinarian father. But many still remember his television days when he was part of classics like Alpviram (1998).
An extremely well-known face on television back in the day, he now does not want to go back. “I left television as soon as the daily soap phenomenon happened. In fact, 2001 was the last time I was on television and since then I have not followed it as such. It does not matter what the format is. But I feel it is almost impossible for television to offer me something that is so appealing that I would go back. It has gotten poorer,” says Bashir, without mincing words.
Similarly, there are very few aspects about the film industry that excite Bashir. “It’s been so draining to be an actor and not get the kind of work I would like; that frustration led to making films. I am also at that stage where I don’t want recognition. It’s not that I have got so much popularity that I don’t need it,” he says, adding, “This post-screening engagement gives me some gratification. This conversation is why I made these films. If you ask me if I am making another film, then my answer would be ‘no’. The journey is not rewarding.”