By Bhawana Somaaya: Aamir Khan has been on a roll for sometime now both personally and professionally. He has become a father third time around and produced a massive scale TV production which has become a topic of discussion in the parliament. I meet Aamir at his Pali Hill residence. He is relishing a holiday after months and cannot believe that he is actually putting up his feet and chatting with me. It is a lazy afternoon and I decide to just sit and chat with him rather than ask tough questions. The last few months have been exceedingly hectic. How do you manage your time? I have been keeping a crazy schedule for more than a couple of months, I would say almost a year or more. It is tough but if you eat and exercise right, a lot of problems get resolved. Sleep is important as well and most important is to work cheerfully, I don’t like screaming and shouting. Stress is inevitable in creative field, but it can be dealt with calmly. I have realised there is solution for every problem. Have you not taken on too much at the same time? Yes and no, because this is how show business operates. I was in talks with the channel for my TV production for a long time. Similarly I was committed to Reema Kagti’s ‘Talaash’ for a long time. It is difficult to define a rigid time span for such pursuits. They happen when they have to. Most celebrities don’t admit to having a surrogate baby, what you did was unusual? I think it is subjective how each one feels. We had been trying for a baby for sometime but it did not happen after Kiran suffered a couple of miscarriages. That’s when we took this decision. Azaad is a surrogate baby, but we are his biological parents. It is the way you made the news public that made all the difference? I did it the way I wanted to. Kiran and I were very clear that we were going to be upfront and not allow others to speculate about us. We informed everybody when we were ready to share the news, beyond that we did not want any invasion on our privacy. To be fair to the media, they respected that. How did your colleagues and friends react to the news? They were all happy for us. In fact, the congratulations are still pouring in. It is a great feeling and we are relishing it. It is funny how the house changes with the arrival of a tiny tot. There are new adjustments, though the mother has more adjustments to make than the father. Reema Kagti is the second director you have worked with after Kiran Rao in ‘Dhobi Ghat’? That’s right though I would not like to discriminate my directors via gender. Reema is clear about what she wants and that always helps the actor. It is always a give and take relationship with the writer- director and director- actor and this reflects in the film. Most of the great films have been possible because of great team work. In ‘Talaash’ you are working with Kareena for the second time and Rani Mukherjee for the third time, how much have they changed? Kareena was superb in a small role in ‘3 Idiots’ and is a revelation in ‘Talaash’. Rani was a fresher in ‘Ghulam’ and even though our song was so popular I don’t know why we did not get a film together for a long time. Then came ‘The Rising’ where she played a courtesan and now ‘Talaash’ where she plays my wife. I don’t wish to disclose more about the film except that it is an interesting film on human relationships. Was it a tough decision to delay the release of a ready film ‘Talaash’ to put ‘Satyamev Jayate’ on air first? Both are my productions so the privilege and prerogative should be mine and I always have a reason for why I do what I do. I have a simple theory. I have to do what I think is right and give it my best shot. Under the circumstances I felt that if we released ‘Talaash’ now I would not be able to give it my 100 percent in the promotion and took a decision to get over with ‘Satyamev Jayate’, so I’m able to give the film my complete concentration. Your director accepted that or was she impatient? She accepted it. This is the way I function. ‘Delhi Belly’ was ready for over a year before we began work on the post production. Same with ‘Peepli Live’ or even for that matter ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’. Ashutosh will tell you how long we had been working on ‘Lagaan’ before we started shooting and how long we worked on post before we released it. I’m a producer, but I also have to give time as an actor to my other assignments and the other way round as well. How long did you take on ‘Satyamev Jayate’? After we agreed on the concept of the show with the channel which resulted after innumerable meetings my team and I researched on the show for two full years. The stories, the packaging, the music has been a long process of brainstorming. The stories we saw in the first episode were heart breaking. The show must have been a long emotional journey for the entire team? You have hit the nail because while the audience watches it just once and then another set of stories the following week, my team and I endure the heartache a number of times. We have so brittle that we are breaking down again and again. Perhaps all of you must consider group therapy? Yes, that is a good suggestion. All of us need to cleanse our system to be able to return to our normal life again. Though let me tell you that coming home to a gurgling baby is therapeutic. I hold my son in my arms and feel healed.You sound emotional? I have always been like this but this is the first time people are getting to see this side of me on the screen. So far on the big screen one has cried with glycerin but these are real tears triggered by what’s happening to real people. Source: The Hans India
