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Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan (born Aamir Hussain Khan on March 14, 1965)
is an Indian film actor, director and producer. Khan worked in a number
of critically and commercially successful films and has established
himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema. He is also the
founder-owner of Aamir Khan Productions.
Starting his career as a child actor in his uncle Nasir
Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Khan began his professional
career eleven years later with the film, Holi (1984). He had his first
commercial success with his cousin Mansoor Khan's film Qayamat Se Qayamat
Tak (1988), for which he won a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. After seven
previous nominations during the 1980s and 1990s, Khan received his first
Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in the major grosser Raja
Hindustani (1996).
In 2001, he made his debut as a film producer with the
Academy Award-nominated Lagaan. Khan played the lead role in the film and
earned his second Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance. After a
four-year break from acting, Khan made his comeback with Ketan Mehta's
Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), and later won a Filmfare Critics Award
for Best Performance for his role in Rang De Basanti (2006). In 2007, he
made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par, for which he received a
Filmfare Best Director Award. This was followed by Ghajini (2008), which
became the highest-grossing Indian film of all-time, unadjusted for
inflation.
Early life
Khan was born in Bandra's Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai,
India, to a Muslim family that has been actively involved in the Indian
motion picture industry for several decades. His father, Tahir Hussain, is
a film producer while his deceased uncle, Nasir Hussain, was a film
producer as well as a director and a actor.
He is a descendant of the Muslim scholar and politician
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and a second cousin to former Chairperson of Rajya
Sabha Dr Najma Heptullah.
Film career
Actor
Khan began his film career as a child actor in a home
production, made by Nasir Hussain, titled Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973) and
Madhosh (1974). Eleven years later, he made his adult acting debut in a
role that went quite unnoticed in Ketan Mehta's Holi (1984).
Khan's first notable leading role came in 1988 in the film
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak which was directed by his cousin and Nasir
Hussain's son Mansoor Khan. This film was a breakthrough commercial
success, effectively launching Khan's career as a leading actor. Having
the typical 'chocolate hero' looks, he was publicised as a teen idol. He
also starred in critically acclaimed film Raakh, for which Khan got his
first National Award for Special Jury Award. After that, he went on to
appear in several other films in the late '80s and early '90s: Dil (1990),
which became the highest grossing film of the year,[5] Dil Hai Ke Manta
Nahin (1991), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993)
(for which he also wrote the screenplay), and Rangeela (1995). Most of
these films were successful critically and commercially.Other successes
include Andaz Apna Apna, co-starring Salman Khan. At the time of its
release the movie was reviewed unfavorably by critics, but over the years
has gained a cult status.
Khan continued to act in just one or two films a year, an
unusual trait for a mainstream Hindi Cinema actor. His only release in
1996 was the Dharmesh Darshan directed commercial blockbuster Raja
Hindustani in which he was paired opposite Karisma Kapoor. The film earned
him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award, after seven previous nominations,
and went on to become the biggest hit of the year, as well as the third
highest grossing Indian film of the 1990s. Khan's career had seemed to hit
a plateau at this point of time, and most of the films to follow for the
next few years were only partially successful. In 1997, he co-starred with
Ajay Devgan and was paired opposite Juhi Chawla in the film Ishq, which
performed well at the box office. In 1998, Khan appeared in the moderately
successful Ghulam, for which he also did playback singing. John Mathew
Matthan's Sarfarosh (1999)Khan's first release in 1999 which was also
moderately successful gaining an above average box office verdict,
although the film was highly appreciated amongst the critics and Khan's
role as a dedicated, honest and an uncorrupt cop engaged in fighting
border terrorism, was well received, as did his role in Deepa Mehta's art
house film Earth. His first release for the new millennium, Mela, in which
he acted alongside his real-life brother Faisal Khan, was both a
box-office and critical bomb.
In 2001 he appeared in Lagaan. The film was a major
critical and commercial success, and received a nomination for Best
Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards. Additionally, the film
gathered critical acclaim at several international film festivals, in
addition to winning numerous Indian awards, including the National Film
Awards. Khan himself won his second Filmfare Best Actor Award.
The success of Lagaan was followed by Dil Chahta Hai later
that year, in which Khan co-starred with Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan,
with Preity Zinta playing his love interest. The film was written and
directed by the then newcomer Farhan Akhtar. According to critics, the
film broke new grounds by showing Indian urban youth as they really are
today. The characters depicted were modern, suave and cosmopolitan. The
film did moderately well and was a success mostly in urban cities.
Khan then took a four year break citing personal problems,
and returned in 2005 with Ketan Mehta's Mangal Pandey: The Rising playin
g the title role of a real-life sepoy and a martyr who
helped spark the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or the 'First War of Indian
Independence'.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's award-winning, Rang De Basanti,
was Khan's first release in 2006. His role was critically
acclaimed,earning him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance and
various nominations for Best Actor. The film went on to become one of the
highest grossing films of the year, and was selected as India's official
entry to the Oscars. Although the film was not shortlisted as a nominee,
it received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the BAFTA Awards in
England. Khan's work in his next movie, Fanaa (2006) was also appreciated,
and the film went on to become one of the highest grossing Indian films of
2006.
His 2007 film, Taare Zameen Par, was also produced by him
and marked his directorial debut. The film, which was the second offering
from Aamir Khan Productions, starred Khan in a supporting role as a
teacher who befriends and helps a dyslexic child. It opened to excellent
responses from critics and audiences alike. Khan's performance was
well-received, although he was particularly applauded for his directing.
In 2008, Khan appeared in the movie Ghajini. The film was
a major commercial success and became the highest grossing Bollywood movie
of all time in nominal terms (i.e., without taking inflation into
account). For his performance in the film, Khan received several Best
Actor nominations at various award ceremonies as well as his fifteenth
Filmfare Best Actor nomination.
Producer
In 2001 Khan set up a production company knownn as Aamir
Khan Productions. Its first film was Lagaan. The movie was released in
2001, starring Khan as the lead actor. The film was selected as India's
official entry to the 74th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language
Film category. It was eventually chosen and nominated in that category but
lost to No Man's Land. The film won numerous awards at several Indian
award functions such as Filmfare and IIFA, and won the National Film Award
for Most Popular Film, an award shared between Khan and the film's
director, Ashutosh Gowarikar.Khan later commented on the loss of Lagaan at
the Oscars: "Certainly we were disappointed. But the thing that really
kept us in our spirits was that the entire country was behind us".
In 2007 he produced the drama Taare Zameen Par which
marked his directorial debut. Khan also played a supporting role in the
film, sharing the screen with the debut of child actor Darsheel Safary.
The film was initially conceived of and developed by the husband and wife
team, Amole Gupte and Deepa Bhatia. It was a story of a young child who
suffers in school until a teacher identifies him as dyslexic. The movie
was critically acclaimed,as well as a box office success. Taare Zameen Par
won the 2008 Filmfare Best Movie Award as well as a number of other
Filmfare and Star Screen Awards. Khan's work won him two awards at the
Filmfare, the Best Movie and the Best Director awards, which established
his status as a competent filmmaker in Bollywood.
In 2008, Khan launched his nephew Imran Khan's debut in
the film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na under his production house. The film was a
big hit in India, and eventually earned Khan another nomination for Best
Movie at the Filmfare.
Personal life
During the years of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Khan married
Reena Dutta. They had two children, a son named Junaid and a daughter,
Ira. Reena was involved, briefly, in Khan's career when she worked as a
producer for Lagaan. In December 2002, Khan filed for divorce, ending the
15-year marriage, with Reena taking the custody of both their children. On
December 28, 2005, he married Kiran Rao who had been an assistant director
to Ashutosh Gowariker during the filming of Lagaan.
Though nominated many times, Khan does not attend any
Indian film award ceremony as he feels "Indian film awards lack
credibility".
In 2007, Khan lost a custody battle for his younger
brother Faisal to their father, Tahir Hussain.
In 2007, Khan was invited to have a wax imitation of
himself put on display at Madame Tussauds in London. However, Khan
declined stating that, "It's not important to me... people will see my
films if they want to. Also, I cannot deal with so many things, I have
bandwidth only for that much.
In a 2009 interview, Khan states that he tends to take an
independent approach to the world of filmmaking, noting that he does not
"do different things; I try to do it in a different manner. I think every
person should follow his/her dream and try and make it possible to create
an ability to achieve it backed by its practicality." He has also
indicated that he is more interested in the process of filmmaking than in
the end result: "For me, the process is more important, more joyful. I
would like to have my entire concentration on the process right from the
first step." When asked about his role model, he stated that, "Gandhiji is
one person who inspires me.
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