Aamir had done about 30 films when he said yes to RDB. I couldn’t believe my luck, and yet, it all seemed so natural that Aamir should be the one to ‘understand’ this script instinctively.
I didn’t know him at all at the time. One day, I sent him a text message. ‘I have made a film called Aks. I want to narrate my next film to you.’ Twenty minutes later, he texted back. ‘I am in London. Should be back on third. We can have it thereafter.’
I waited till the fifth and sent him another message. ‘In case you’re back, can we meet?’ Twenty minutes later, came the punctual response. ‘Yes I’m back. Can we hear it on this date at this time?’ I went to his office.
AK: What would you prefer? Giving me the script or narrating it?
Me: What do you prefer?
AK: It’s not about me, it’s about you.
Me: How much time do you have?
AK: It’s your pace. If you need 15 minutes, they’re yours. If you need a day, it’s yours. I want to listen to your idea.
I marvelled at how this man, whose body of work ranged from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar to Lagaan, a focussed artist who could solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than 20 seconds, was only interested in what I wanted to create, not who I was! At an early age, he had shown contempt for conventional education and chose to learn only about cinema. His unusual choices and dedication have made him an iconic actor who had the pulse of his audience.
I started narrating to him. My plot was an unusual one that moved between the 1920s and 2005 played by the same set of actors. A bunch of university students become part of a documentary featuring real-life revolutionaries. Initially, they don’t identify with the characters or have a full understanding of their own history. They know little about their forefathers who fought for the rights they take for granted, and yet, as the film progresses, they find a cause worth dying for.
There were two parallel stories and wherever they crisscrossed, there were sparks—until they overlapped and the lines blurred. It was a new narrative to say the least and very difficult to imagine. All one could do was to feel it and take a leap of faith. I needed a man who believed in the risk he was taking. I was helming a tumultuous ship!
Three hours later, both of us felt good about it, but there was both anticipation and caution.
AK: I haven’t seen Aks.
Me: I will arrange a screening for you tomorrow.
Aamir saw Aks. I was on tenterhooks till I heard back from him. Aamir says in Ru Ba Ru (Face-to-Face), a 2011 documentary on the filming of RDB: ‘This was around 2002 and I was already part of Mangal Pandey, which was also a heavy historical film—the story of a freedom fighter. But I loved the screenplay and the inspiration behind RDB.’
In the book I’ll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir Khan by Christina Daniels, Aamir is quoted in this context, ‘I didn’t know whether it was going to work or not.’ But he put himself firmly behind my unorthodox idea and became the character—something he is known to do. And I don’t mean it in a superficial way. He imbibed the soul of DJ and Chandrashekhar Azad and gave his own interpretation to it, ranging from the sublime to the mundane qualities of the character. Bharathi had given me a quote which she had read, ‘There are two primary choices in life. Either you let things be the way they are. Or take responsibility for changing them.’ I sent Aamir the same as a one-line brief for his character impetus.
Avan Contractor created a more urban hairstyle for his character DJ. This was immediately post the period film Mangal Pandey and was a whole new look. Arjun Bhasin, the stylist, worked on the entire cast’s look. Aamir rehearsed his Punjabi dialect and twang to perfection. He became one with the cast and crew—every supreme artist understands that the entire crew has to be elevated to another level to make magic happen. He was paired opposite Alice. She observed his command over the cast when she told BBC, ‘It’s only when you notice how people talk about a person that you realize how important or famous they are. Everyone looked up to Aamir, including the younger actors. He’s a lovely man, incredibly generous and funny.’
Aamir is a visionary and understands everything that is going wrong or right with the creative process. Sometimes, tough decisions like ‘let’s shoot for 10 more days’ became easy because Aamir backed the need to do it. Also, he had no ego about whose scene it was. If the scene belonged to the other boys, he would happily stay in the background because the film’s narrative was the Bible that could not be tampered with. Aamir’s cinematic understanding remains unparalleled in our industry. Without his nod, RDB would have been another dreamer’s script gathering the dust of apathy and inertia.
While signing on the dotted line, Aamir included a clause, which was the reason I ended up making the movie on time in the first place. Here’s an example: ‘If my fee is Rs 4 crore and you don’t pay me on time, then you’ll have to pay me Rs 8 crore for defaulting,’ he had said. I had never even seen Rs 8 crore till then.
‘The Stranger in the Mirror’ has been published by Rupa.