Celebrating his 60th birthday on March 13th, Aamir Khan recently opened-up about the early days of his career during a conversation with writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar at the launch of the ‘Aamir Khan: Cinema Ka Jadugar’ film festival by a leading cinema chain. The actor reminisced about the challenges he faced after his blockbuster debut in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ in 1988.
Aamir candidly shared how he received an overwhelming number of film offers and, without fully understanding the weight of his decisions, he signed multiple contracts simultaneously. He recalled, “Back then, actors worked on 30 to 50 films simultaneously. Interestingly, Anil Kapoor did the fewest, with 33 films. Seeing that, I ended up signing 9-10 films at once. However, none of the directors I had dreamed of working with offered me any roles. It was only once the shooting of these films began that I realised the gravity of my mistake. I was working three shifts a day. I was not happy. I would go home and cry.” Things only turned worse from there for some time to come.
The actor recounted how this decision led to a string of flops, including ‘Love Love Love’, ‘Awwal Number’ and ‘Tum Mere Ho’. Reflecting on that period, he said, “The media dubbed me a ‘one-film wonder.’ Rightly so; I blame no one for that label. By then, I was certain that not only had these three films failed, but my next six would be disasters because they were even worse. I could see my career going down the drain. I was stuck in a swamp, unable to get out.” And then came the turnaround.
Despite the setbacks, Aamir Khan made a triumphant return with the hit film ‘Dil’ in 1990. Throughout the ’90s, he solidified his status as a leading star in the Hindi film industry and went on to deliver numerous blockbusters in the 2000s. The ‘Cinema Ka Jadugar’ festival marks a celebration of this remarkable journey and achievements on his milestone birthday.
