Aamir Khan is a successful Bollywood actor who has carved out a niche for himself in the rat race of the film industry. No matter what the rest of the Bollywood is up to, Aamir Khan has his own ways of movie making. Countless actors come to Bollywood each year with the same dream of becoming a ‘hero’. And then they are lost in the Bollywood market. But not Aamir Khan. He is one actor who has always stuck to what he believes. He is an actor for whom Bollywood is not just a nonsensical and meaningless money making machine. He always makes sure, or at least tries, to deliver to the audience something to think of, a sort of afterthought, as a bonus with his movies. As a writer, you too can learn a few lessons from this actor who never fears to follow what he believes.
Perfection
Aamir Khan is known as Mr. Perfectionist in Bollywood. For every movie, he changes his looks considerably depending upon his character. And not only his looks, he changes his entire personality with each and every character. If his character is a boxer, he learns boxing. If his character has six pack abs, he works out towards achieving a six pack. That is why his movies are more believable than the general mainstream Bollywood releases. And that is the first thing you, as a writer, can learn from him. That perfection is important and perfection comes from focus on detailing.
Less is more
Aamir Khan is one actor who rarely goes through the general glitz and glamour routine of Bollywood with his movies. His movies are often minimalistic, simple and hence more identifiable with the audience. Besides, he is also one of the few actors in Bollywood who focuses less on promotion and lets his movie do the talking. A writer also needs to believe that often, less is really a lot more. As a writer you do not need to lose yourself in the gloss and glitterati of the surroundings. You need not use a complicated narrative style or ornamental words to produce a great piece of writing. Simple, logical and identifiable stories are way better than that.
Keep the suspense
Aamir Khan’s movies are well known for this particular aspect – till the last minute you can only guess what is going to happen and hardly be sure of it. He provokes his audience to think in this way. As a writer, you should also learn to keep your reader guessing, but never being definite about it till the end. If your writing can keep the suspense rolling, with build-ups to it that are logical, you need not worry about your story at all. It is well assured then, that it is a good piece of writing.
Clean art also works
Most of Aamir Khan’s movies are clean family entertainers without unnecessary sex or violence. Sex and violence are two things that generally sell, or so do artists assume. Hence they often use sex and violence solely for the purpose of selling. But good art does not need such superficial excuses for being sold. A good movie sells because it is a true and believable movie and it is a good piece of art. And that is another thing you can learn from Aamir Khan movies – that good art does not need add-on, attention-grabbing elements, for it to reach out to its right audience.
Controversy in overrated
Many actors in Bollywood often stage controversies about themselves and their upcoming work to attract the attention of the audience. But Aamir Khan never follows that path. He is one actor who believes in his work and lets his work do the talking. As a writer you should also have much faith in your work, so that you do not need to take help of silly instruments like controversy to reach out to the reader.
Image credit: ashish kumar on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/215888_10150217537488939_1231540_n.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Abhinanda Banerjee is a full-time freelance writer and stage actor. She’s an avid reader, culinary enthusiast, and lover of everything about the sixties.
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