“David Dhawan is a talented director. Yes, I may not agree with some of his films but that’s a separate issue” – Aamir Khan

In this interview taken in two sessions (and this had nothing to do with Aamir being slow) — one in the afternoon and the other, the same night — at Aamir’s house, the actor talks on a variety of subjects including his career, his style of working, his likes and dislikes, his contract with ABCL, his views on star ceiling and on the ever-increasing star prices etc.

Is that the reason why David Dhawan and you have never worked together? This question is being put up because David’s forte is comedy films, he is very successful and you, too, excel in light roles.
At the outset, let me tell you that I think, David is a talented director. Yes, I may not agree with some of his films but that’s a separate issue. As to why we haven’t worked together, well, he has never approached me with a concrete film offer, though, whenever we meet, he tells me, “Let’s work together.” If and when he does come up with an offer, I’ll definitely work with him.

But David works on 8 films at a time. How will you work with him?
In that case, I cannot work with him.

Don’t you think, you are too demanding?
I don’t think so. After all, what am I demanding? I’m ‘demanding’ that the film’s director be its mother. And that’s no demand, if you ask me. All the great directors have been mothers of their films.

But a mother also brings up five and six children. So why not a director who can make 6 films at a time?
Yes, a mother brings up six children but not all six at one time. Unless she gets a pair of twins, the children don’t come together. Coming back to your previous question of being too demanding, I’m only ‘demanding’ that the director should always be present on the sets and during the film’s post-production, that he should do his job. What is wrong in that? How would the director feel if I were to tell him to have a song picturised on my duplicate? What if I would refuse to give costume trials or time for rehearsals. See, these are normal demands of a director, and an actor is bound to carry them out. In today’s times, they may seem like abnormal demands but they are all part of an actor’s duty. They are no demands at all.

When you are so concerned about the film and its producers, can one say that you’ve never been responsible for delaying a film?
Never! I say this honestly that I’ve never delayed a film. People have taken advantage of me, sometimes even made me the scapegoat for a delay, but, believe me, I don’t indulge in delaying tactics.

Do you suffer from a feeling of insecurity? At such times, don’t you feel, you should sign more films?
Yes, I do feel insecure, at times. No artiste can escape this feeling of insecurity. Every creative person goes through these phases where he feels insecure because there’s no fixed formula for success in his case. But insecurity does not make me do anything which I may feel is not good for cinema or for me. For instance, no amount of insecurity can now prompt me to work in double shifts or do ten films at a time. Frankly speaking, even three films are too much to handle! See, a public personality does not think of just money, his image and the respect he commands are also of equal, sometimes of even more, importance. Then there’s also the question of the industry. I’m no great patriot but I genuinely believe that we must not take any step which can harm the industry. There are just few people in our industry who feel strongly for it. We must realise that even one wrong step from an individual’s side can bring in so much frustration in the industry.