Biography
Career
Aamir was born into a film-industry clan. His father Tahir Hussain is a producer; his uncle Nasir Hussain was a director. He has acted in a few films directed by his cousin Mansoor Khan. He is the brother of Faisal Khan, with whom he acted in the 2000 film Mela.
Aamir began his career as a child-actor in the film Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), when he was eight years old. He acted and wrote the screenplay for the film Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke (1993). He has also done playback singing for himself in the successful film Ghulam (1998).
Aamir is known for his efforts to create believable characters, rather than just playing himself in film after film. He will go to great lengths to give a convincing portrayal -- including, it is said, drinking heavily in order to play a drunken scene in Raja Hindustani (1996), even though he doesn't drink in real life. His memorable characters include:
Raj, the lover (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak)
Amar, the inept schemer (Andaz Apna Apna)
Aakash, the college Lothario (Dil Chahta Hai)
Munna, the street tough (Rangeela)
Bhuvan, the village idealist (Lagaan)
ACP Rathod, a crusading police officer, (Sarfarosh)
Sidhart , a fiery young boxer (Ghulam)
Raghu Jaitly, an affable news reporter (Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin)
Mangal Pandey, a fierce opponent of the British Raj (Mangal Pandey)
DJ , the cheerful youth (Rang De Basanti)
Aamir is also known for working on only one film at a time, unusual in the Bollywood film industry, because he wants to give his best to each film. Detractors say that his penchant for perfection sometimes leads to clashes with directors who don't listen to his objections or let him re-shoot a scene he thinks sub-par.
Aamir's reputed perfectionism seems to have paid off for his first foray into film-production, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. This film was a big box-office success in India and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 2001.
Aamir's latest movies
His latest movie, released in January 2006, is Rang De Basanti, a contemporary patriotic tale. The movie has broken box office records in many cities in India and has done well outside India.
Aamir's 2005 release was the The Rising which was made both in English and in Hindi. He played the role of Mangal Pandey, a sepoy in the army of the British East India Company and a leader of the Indian rebellion of 1857 (which the British called the Indian Mutiny). The movie released on August 12, 2005. The film did fairly well at the box office, but did not match the success of Lagaan.
Family life
Aamir went directly into films from college and made his first big hit playing ... a college boy. Publicists tried to position him as a teen idol, every college girl's dream. In order to do so, they buried all evidence of his 1988 marriage to Reena Datta, who (though not a professional actress and already married to him at that time) made a brief appearance in a song sequence in his first hit film, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. It was big news when the marriage was first revealed.
However, Aamir's popularity survived the revelation, and his marriage to Reena seemed to have survived too. They had two children (son Junaid and daughter Aaira) and led a quiet, publicity-shunning family life. Reena was even involved, briefly, in Aamir's career when she worked as a producer for Lagaan. It was a big surprise to the film-going public when Aamir Khan and Reena divorced in 2003. Aamir was later linked romantically to Kiran Rao, an assistant to director Ashutosh Gowariker for the film Lagaan. The two wed on December 28, 2005.
Trivia
Was offered Shahrukh Khan's role in Darr but turned it down.
Accepts only National Film Awards; refuses to show up at any other of the many movie award ceremonies, such as the Filmfare Award show.
Quotes
"Every film I do means a lot to me. The failure of Mela, definitely made a difference to me. I am not comfortable with the idea of my films not releasing to their full potential."
Awards and nominations
Academy Award
2002: nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 2001.
Awards of the International Indian Film Academy
2002: Popular Award, Best Actor win for the role of Bhuvan in Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India and Popular Award, Best Actor nomination for the role of Akash Malhotra in Dil Chahta Hai
Filmfare awards
1989: Best Debut win for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
1992: Best Actor nomination for the role of Raghu Jaitley in Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin
1995: Best Actor nomination for the role of Amar in Andaz Apna Apna
1996: Best Actor nomination for the role of Rohit Kumar in Akele Hum Akele Tum
1997: Best Actor win for the role of Raja Hindustani in Raja Hindustani
2000: Best Actor nomination for the role of ACP Ajay Singh Rathod in Sarfarosh
2002: Best Actor win for the role of Bhuvan in Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India and Best Actor nomination for the role of Akash Malhotra in Dil Chahta Hai
2006: Best Actor nomination for the role of Mangal Pandey in The Rising
National Film Awards, India
2002: "Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment" win for Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India shared with Ashutosh Gowariker
Star Screen Awards
1997: Best Actor win for the role of Raja Hindustani in Raja Hindustani
2002: Best Actor nomination for the role of Bhuvan in Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India and Best Actor nomination for the role of Akash Malhotra in Dil Chahta Hai
Zee Cine Awards
2000: Popular Award, Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Male win for the role of ACP Ajay Singh Rathod in Sarfarosh
2002: Popular Award, Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Male win for the role of Bhuvan in Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India and Popular Award, Best Actor nomination for the role of Akash Malhotra in Dil Chahta Hai
Filmography
Fanaa (2006) (filming)
Rang De Basanti (2006) ... DJ
The Rising (2005) ... Mangal Pandey (Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Dil Chahta Hai (2001) ... Akash Malhotra (Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) ... Bhuvan (Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Mela (2000) ... Kishan Pyare
Mann (1999) ... Karan Dev Singh
Sarfarosh (1999) ... Ajay Singh Rathod (Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Earth (1998) ... Dil Navaz, the Ice Candy Man
Ghulam (1998) ... Siddharth Marathe
Ishq (1997) ... Raja
Raja Hindustani (1996) ... Raja Hindustani (Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) ... Rohit (Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Rangeela (1995) ... Munna
Aatank Hi Aatank (1995) ... Rohan
Baazi (1995) ... Inspector Amar Damjee
Andaz Apna Apna (1994) ... Amar
Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke (1993) ... Rahul Malhotra (Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Parampara (1993) ... Ranbir Singh
Isi Ka Naam Zindagi (1992) ... Chotu
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) ... Sanjaylal Verma
Daulat Ki Jung (1991) ... Rajesh Chaudhry
Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991) ... Raghu Jetley (Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award)
Afsana Pyaar Ka (1991) ... Raj
Jawani Zindabad (1990) ... Shashi
Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin (1990) ... Ajay Sharma
Dil (1990) ... Raja
Tum Mere Ho (1990) ... Shiva
Awwal Number (1990) ... Sunny
Love Love Love (1989)
Raakh (1989) ... Aamir Hussein
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) ... Raj (Winner, Filmfare Best Debut Award)
Holi (1984) ... Madan Sharma
Madhosh (1974) ... Child artist
Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) ... Child artist
