Thread by @jocular_jordan, The Phenomenon KhanAamir khan is not a perfectionist call him passionate..Over a [...]

The Phenomenon Khan

Aamir khan is not a perfectionist call him passionate..

Over a 100 years have gone by since Indian Cinema came into existence. We’ve seen an umpteen number of superstars who’ve graced the silver screen with their everlasting charm and magnificence.

Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan, Kamal Hassan, Rajnikant to name a few. They’ve given numerous hits, timeless classics in their hay days. But, there is one name that just stands out – AAMIR KHAN. The Perfectionist of Hindi Cinema.

This article is not to degrade any other superstar that belongs to the Aamir Khan era, but to showcase why Aamir Khan is not just 2 steps, but 10 steps ahead of his compatriots not just at the ticket windows, but also in terms of filmmaking capabilities.

Aamir made his mainstream debut in 1988 with QSQT.The film went on to become a BB at the Box Office and hence, Aamir became a household name. Next year came Raakh, an art film that didn’t do well commercially but Aamir’s performance garnered applause from the National Award Jury

Then came Dil, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Rangeela, Sarfarosh, Raja Hindustani, Ghulam, Ishq in the 1990s that were not only huge commercial hits, but also garnered critical appraise from the industry and critics alike.

Aamir also made a few mistakes in terms of script selection such as Tum Mere Ho, Jawani Zindabad, Deewana Mujhsa Nahi, Parampara etc. that didn’t give returns at the box office. Being the true virtuoso that he is, he learned from those mistakes and soon everything changed.

The best was yet to come from Aamir Khan. Under his own name, he started a production house Aamir Khan Productions. The first film under the banner was none other than Lagaan:Once Upon A Time In India. Everyone close to Aamir Khan asked him not to produce it.

The risk-taker that he is, Aamir went ahead with it, and the rest as they say, is history. The film became a huge hit at the box office, won numerous awards worldwide, none bigger than a nomination in the last 5 of the Academy Awards(Oscars).

That same year came Dil Chahta Hai, a cult classic film on friendship and love that changed the dynamics of youth-centric films in India.

He took a 3 year sabbatical from silver screen post DCH due to personal anomalies.

In 2005, Aamir came up with a period drama Mangal Pandey. The film garnered critical acclaim, broke all opening and weekend records in terms of money earned, almost entirely due to his presence, but ultimately flopped due to a higher than normal budget.

After MP, there’s been no looking back for Aamir. Critical acclaim, national awards, box office records, audience love and trust, worldwide popularity, he gained it all, way more than his current contemporaries namely Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.

In versatility and dedication towards his craft, there is no adversary for Aamir Khan in the Indian film industry, except for maybe Kamal Hassan. From playing a village boy in Lagaan who speaks Awadhi to an urban high class guy in Dil Chahta Hai in the same year.

From a teacher in Taare Zameen Par to a college student in 3 Idiots; from an alien in PK who speaks Bhojpuri to an old distressed fat as hell Haryanvi Jatt father of 2 grown up daughters, Aamir Khan has done it all, and he would repeat it all again if the script demands it.

Other stars were confined to their pram of typical genre. Aamir Khan attempted different stuff each time & came out with flying colours! He takes break when he desires, does offbeat films when he wants to, he goes commercial when his heart says- he’s his own person!

Also, who can forget the infamous blank cheque offered to him by YRF after 3 Idiots’ success for signing 3 films? At the peak of his career and stardom, Aamir rejected blatantly!

Aamir Khan is not just a role model, but an afflatus for younger generations to give it their all in whichever field they wish to succeed in. If one delves in, could write a thesis on how hard he worked for Dangal.

“Call me Mr. Passionate, not Mr. Perfectionist“, he once said.

When SRK& Salman tried their hands to break their lover boy & masala hero images respectively with Ashoka, Paheli, Swades, Fan, Khamoshi,Kyun ki, London Dreams, MAMK, Jai Ho to name a few, their movies tumbled unceremoniously at the ticket window.

The Prominent force behind Aamir‘s Success is his uncanny, and immaculate sense of script. His success ratio is higher than not only his contemporaries but also the legends of cinema like DilipKumar, Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bacchhan & Rajesh Khanna

Aamir’s niche films are huge hits at Box-office for ex Sarfrosh, Rangeela, Ghulam, Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par & DANGAL. That’s why he is called the game changer of Indian Cinema & Legendary Filmmaker K.Balachandra called him Don Bradman of Indian cinema.

Aamir Khan has not only been reigning over this decade, but has been at par or a touch above both his rivals at the box office since the inception of their careers. Infact right now, Aamir Khan commands control over 75% of box office records that exist.

Now, let us look at why Aamir Khan is not just a megastar at Box Office, but as a filmmaker, way ahead of rest of those prevailing in Indian Cinema, currently.

You’d be surprised to look at how most directors of Bollywood have given their best film when Aamir has been the actor.

Check this out below:

Nitesh Tiwari’s best film – DANGAL
Rajkumar Hirani’s best film – 3 IDIOTS
Reema Kagti’s best film – TALAASH
AR Murugadoss’ best film – GHAJINI
Kunal Kohli’s best film – FANAA
Rakeysh Mehra’s best film – RANG DE BASANTI
Farhan Akhtar’s best film – DCH

Ashutosh Gowariker’s best film – LAGAAN
John Mathew’s best film – SARFAROSH
Deepa Mehta’s best film – 1947EARTH
Vikram Bhatt’s best film – GHULAM
Dharmesh Darshan’s best film – RAJA HINDUSTANI
Rajkumar Santoshi’s best film – AAA
Mansoor Khan’s best film – JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDER

More than 14 Directors of Hindi Cinema have given their greatest directorial venture with Aamir Khan. Is this a coincidence? We think not.

OFFICIAL OSCAR ENTRIES

Aamir Khan:

1947 Earth
Lagaan(Made it to top 5 of Best Foreign Films)
Rang De Basanti (Top5 Nomination at Britsh Academy’s Film & Television Awards-BAFTA)
Taare Zameen Par
Peepli Live (Producer)

Shah Rukh Khan – Devdas

Salman Khan – Nil

Need more proof of the genius of Aamir Khan at work, now? Fine, let’s go ahead.

NATIONAL AWARD WINNING FILMS

Aamir Khan:

QSQT (Best Popular Film)
Raakh (Special Jury Award)
1947Earth (Best Film on National Integration)
Sarfarosh (Best Popular Film)
Lagaan (Best Popular Film)
DilChahta Hai (Best Regional Film)
TaareZameen Par (Best Film on Family Welfare)

RangDe Basanti (Best Popular Film)
3Idiots (Best Popular Film)

Shah Rukh Khan:

Darr (Best Popular Film)
DDLJ (Best Popular Film)
DTPH (Best Popular Film)
KKHH (Best Popular Film)
Devdas (Best Popular Film)
VeerZaara (Best Popular Film)
Chak De India (Best Popular Film)

Salman Khan:

HumAapke Hain Kaun (Best Popular Film)
Dabangg (Best Popular Film)
BajrangiBhaijaan (Best Popular Film)
Aamir’s a genius, ain’t he? Let’s go further.

We all know http://Imdb.com is the world’s largest and most popular Internet movie database. The reviews and ratings posted there are by and large genuine. Also, they have a list of 250 of the best films of the world, all stacked up together.

From India, so far 17 films have made it to the list, out of which 8 feature AAMIR KHAN. The list is as shown below with the number at which they feature:

DANGAL #64
TZP #84
ANDAZ APNA APNA #97
3 IDIOTS #103
RANG DE BASANTI #158
DIL CHAHTA HAI #183
LAGAAN #240
PK #246

Yes, the list keeps pushing films in and out, but Aamir Khan films are a constant feature of the IMDB Top 250. Know why? Because they are just too good.

In comparison, films of other actors that have made the list are:

Shah Rukh Khan:
Swades,CDI,MNIK
Salman Khan: AAA

Need more proof of how Aamir Khan just simply is the greatest film-maker and actor of all time? Let’s dig a little deeper.

FILMS with 8+ Ratings on IMDb

Aamir Khan

Dangal(8.4)
PK(8.2)
3 Idiots(8.4)
TZP(8.4)
RDB(8.2)
DCH(8.2)
Lagaan(8.1)
Sarfarosh(8.1)
AAA(8.2)
JJWS(8.2)

Shah Rukh Khan

My Name Is Khan(8.0)
Chak De! India(8.4)
Swades(8.3)
Kal Ho Naa Ho(8.0)
Hey Ram(8.0)
DDLJ(8.2)
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa(8.1)
Salman Khan

Bajrangi Bhaijaan(8.1)
Andaz Apna Apna(8.2)

Aamir Khan has done the least number of films, yet has more 8+ rated films than any Indian actor ever.
Dangal is the highest rated Indian film ever on IMDb(minimum 10K votes)
Salman Khan has done the most number of films but has least 8+ films.

Delving a little into the respect Aamir Khan has earned over his two rivals:

PADMA SHRI (4th highest civilian honor of India)

Aamir Khan was the youngest ever to get it in 2003.
Shah Rukh Khan got it after Aamir Khan in 2005.
Salman Khan yet to receive it.

PADMA BHUSHAN (3rd highest civilian honor of India after Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan)

Aamir Khan got it in 2010.
SRK yet to receive it.
Salman Khan hasn’t received Padma Shri, so let’s forget this one.
Hence Proved, Genius thy name Aamir Hussain Khan!

Popularity chart
An actor earns name, fame and respect through his work. While most other actors haved hired a PR team that looks after what kind of news the actor is in, how long is he in it, Aamir chose a different path. He let his work do the talking.

Here are some points that show why Aamir Khan is not only the most popular, but also the most influential Indian actor of all time:

In March 2001, he was ranked as the 3rd Most Powerful Indian Film Star by Forbes.
In December 2001, he was named “Man of the Year” by Bombay Times

In 2002, he was a member of the jury of the Locarno film festival.
In April 2008, he received a “Special Award” from Master Dinanath MangeshkarSmruti Pratisthan for his services to Indian cinema.

In January 2009, he received “Indian of The Year in Cinema” Award by NDTV
In January 2009, he received the “Indian of the Year in Entertainment” Award from CNN-IBN.
In May 2009, he received “Raj Kapoor Smriti Vishesh Gaurav Puraskar” by the Government of Maharashtra

In August 2012, he featured on the cover page of the TIME.
In April 2013, he was among TIMEmagazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World List.
Face of INCREDIBLE INDIA for 10 years in a row. Tourism industry got a boost of 12% on an average per year

Aamir Khan is the only actor to be appointed Visiting Faculty at prestigious LBSNAA & IIM-A.
IMDb Vote Count: The top 5 most voted Indian films on IMDb are all Aamir films. 3 Idiots(304K votes) TZP(145K votes) PK(140K votes) Dangal(126K votes) RDB (101K votes)

Aamir Khan films are the only films that have made it to the top 15 of the most popular films worldwide – PK in 2014 and Dangal in 2016.
Total votes of 3 Idiots on IMDb are higher than total votes of 68% Hollywood films listed on the website.

SATYAMEV JAYATE- A social revolution

Who isn’t aware about SMJ? A social drama hosted by Aamir Khan, produced by AKP is one of the most successful TV shows. It was aired on 12 channels at the same time, and generated record TRPS, way more than shows like BiggBoss or KBC.

The show was lauded by International Media across continents, with Aamir getting accolades for being a visionary and a social worker of the highest order.

AAMIR KHAN PRODUCTIONS

A production house that has a 100% success ratio in terms of quality and box office. Even art house films like Dhobi Ghat and Peepli Live became Above Average and Hit respectively because of just one name Aamir Khan.

To show the crowd pulling capacity of the brand AAMIR KHAN, check the below facts:

AKP’s JTYJN starring 5 debut actors, including Imran Khan and Genelia D’Souza scored more on Opening Day, Weekend and Lifetime than Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer Yuvvraaaj in 2008,

Combined Nett gross of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa was double to that of Salman Khan’s 2 releases in 2008.
An unknown small film with no face value, Peepli Live released on 500 screens and became a hit at box office. Also, became India’s official entry to Oscars in 2011.

Aamir’s first directorial, Taare Zameen Par, led by child actor Darsheel Safary became Super Hit at Box Office.
Delhi Belly, an adult film with explicit content featuring Imran Khan became a huge box office hit.

Production house that has given back to back classics to Indian Cinema, not just once, but 7 times.

DECODING DANGAL SUCCESS

This year, a film released that had:

No known lead actress
No brand/Franchise
No known director.
No Chartbuster/Item Songs
No known Supporting Actor
No commercial elements

In addition to that:

Rampant effect of demonitization at smaller centres.
Old graying fat hero.
Boycott campaign by a fringe group.
No promotion on Television or City Tours.
No extra benefit of Holidays as Christmas and New Year fell on Sunday.

Just one name AAMIR KHAN

Result?

Fastest to 300 crore club(13 days)
All Time Blockbuster.
All Time Grosser.
Most watched film in theatres in the last 15 years.

This is whom you call a damn CROWD PULLER! THE BIGGEST IN INDIA!

The above records, the fan following, the respect, the trust and the social aspects of being a concerned Indian citizen, point only to one fact AAMIR KHAN IS THE GREATEST INDIAN MEGASTAR EVER. AND A GENIUS. Period.

Also, we’ve always stressed that Aamir Khan is Aamir Khan’s competition. Rest of the actors just battle among themselves for that 2nd position. In other words, #1 is temporary and replaceable in years to come but Aamir Khan’s legacy is permanent and irreplaceable.

THE END

Credits: @IamIshaanGulati

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