The real ‘King’ Khan of Bollywood ready to conquer TV

Tags like ‘Mr Perfectionist’, ‘superstar’ and more have superseded the human being that Aamir Khan is. The man with a childlike heart, who cries at the drop of a hat, is indeed over-shadowed by his larger-than-life on screen image. But he has never really given much thought or importance to the tags custom-made for him and he shies away from accolades.

Audiences will, however, get the opportunity to connect to Aamir the person with his television debut ‘Satyamev Jayate’. The recently launched theme song of ‘Satyamev Jayate’ gave a glimpse of what is in store. Ask Aamir about it and he says, “The show is a very important step in my life. It is something dear to my heart. It’s been my most ambitious project by far and very close to my heart. At the moment, my life revolves around the show.”

Aamir has spent around two years planning the show and making it a reality. Which probably explains why his fans have been deprived of his presence on the 70mm post his little role in ‘Dhobi Ghat’.

However, audiences will be adequately compensated since Aamir will come a tad closer to them, on the small screen.

Elaborating on the show, Aamir says, “This is just my effort to connect to India, to the people of our country, and, more importantly, connect to myself. I won’t say much since I want the audience to enjoy the show to the fullest. We’ve made a theme song for now, because I think music is something that binds people, and sometimes music does a lot that ‘talking’ can’t.”

In the theme video, with music composed by Ram Sampat, lyrics penned by Prasoon Joshi and direction by Ram Madhvani, Aamir is seen indulging in a heart-to-heart conversation with the people of our country in different regions, eating with them, playing with children, and lots more.

Aamir claims it was an enriching experience, “You know, we as stars and actors do not get the opportunity to meet people and interact with them. For me, this was one of life’s most enriching experiences. I learnt so much from them and it’s just good to connect to people.”

It’s heart warming to see the aura of Aamir Khan the star fade away after a point of time. Then you begin to think of him as just another human being with all his emotions on display.

Aamir admits, “I’ve cried so many times during this whole journey. I cry a lot in any case.”

The ‘Talaash’ actor also clarifies that the show isn’t about solving the problems of the people in our country. “I don’t think I have the strength to do so. It’s not about solving the problems of people in our country. It’s about understanding them and connecting emotionally. Like I might not be able to solve your problem, but I can hold your hand or hug you and make you feel better,” says the star.

All said and done, the motive of the show and the song remains to bind the people of India. It can be called a ‘bharat-jodo abhyayan’ of sorts. Aamir laughs, “Yes, actually, it’s an apt term. The show has every element that an Indian can connect to. That’s the effort we’ve made.” In fact, that is evident even in the theme song which according to the perfectionist isn’t a patriotic song.

“It’s a romantic song, depicting the love we have for our country,” he says, promptly reciting the lyrics of the song and praising lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

Though ‘Satyamev Jayate’ is a show about India and its people, it doesn’t lack entertainment. Aamir explains, “I don’t think entertainment has just to do with laughter. ‘Laughter’ is just one emotion we have amidst many others. I once met an American author who told me that the role of entertainment is to weave around the fabric of our society, healing a person, or making a difference to a person.

Entertainment to me is different things.” Having said that, he admits he has enjoyed the other shows on the small screen hosted by other Hindi movie actors. “I enjoyed ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, the one with Amitji. I loved ‘Dus Ka Dum’ as well and that show with Hrithik, ‘Just Dance’, left me stumped with the quality of dancers. But you know, I was never interested in hosting those shows. I would love to be a contestant on a quiz show though.”

Aamir is modest as he accepts our compliments on the promo and theme song of his show, saying, “Let’s hope people like the show as well,” and smiling his patented innocent smile.

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6 Comments
  1. Author
    sputnik 12 years ago

    ‘While Bollywood A-listers — right from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan to Salman Khan — have always opted for the prime-time evening slots on television for their small screen outings, actor Aamir Khan took the industry by surprise when it was revealed that his show Satyamev Jayate will be aired on Sundays at 11 am.

    “Aamir opting for the traditional spot of 11 am on Sunday mornings as opposed to the primetime slots available between 8 and 10 pm, for his TV debut has baffled many,” admits an industry insider. Earlier speculation was rife about the slot that the show would be aired on, as that would mean moving the existent shows on the channel. But according to a source, it was one of Aamir’s conditions that was put forth to the channel that his show be given the traditional spot on TV.

    Though trade experts and TV industry insiders unanimously agree that it’s a risky move, they do admit that it’s also a smart one. “As of now, this slot is not priority for any channel. It’s mostly kiddie stuff that a majority of the channels air at present during this time slot. And the other channels too don’t dish out any special fare during the time, so it’s mostly movies or re-runs of their weekly shows,” says a TV insider, adding that it’s exactly why having a show at this time is not without its risks. “The slot would mean drawing viewers’ attention and getting them hooked to a time that they haven’t seriously tapped into for a while. So, this could entail changing TV viewing habit, which is always risky,” explains the insider.

    But trade analyst Taran Adarsh points out that Aamir’s credibility as a serious star will draw in the audience no matter what the time.

    “Aamir pitching his show at 11 am on Sundays which was traditionally the top spot during the Ramayan and Mahabharata days almost 20 years back, may actually revive the viewer interest in that slot again. I think it’s a smart move by Aamir considering that it will be aired at a time when there’s absolutely no competition from any other show at all,” explains Taran.

    A veteran industry insider agrees that Aamir’s show has already generated a strong buzz. “In the past too Aamir has taken up for serious causes, proving his social awareness and that clubbed with his no-nonsense image will work in his favour. His name brings value to the kind of talk show that he’s hosting and will draw families for sure,” says the insider. “Logistically speaking, the show is targetted at an audience across board and so he might actually just revive that slot timing and change the existent rules of TV viewing. His marketing moves have hardly missed the aim, and this one shouldn’t be any different,” adds Taran.’

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  2. Baba Ji 12 years ago

    I think this is a masterstroke from Aamir khan yet again.As usual,like his movies,he is going agains the tide.We know mostly celebs go for prime time 8-10 pm in weekdays.Weekend is generally not considered good for tv shows bcos ppl hv other things to do and more so on sunday mornings as reasons stated in the article.
    Aamir’s show might just bring those golden days of doordarshan back when the whole family used to sit together to see rangoli,ramayana,mahabharta and surabhi.The nostalgia factor will be there plus aamirs association makes it all the more interesting and prestigious.The TV promos are a hit and his title song has received a good response.Its a show about India and its ppl.Such themes can rarely go wrong and with aamir at hand,its a winner al the way.Expect the opening TRPs to touch the sky.it will be historic.

  3. Baba Ji 12 years ago

    I think among most celebs chose their roles well when they decided to come to small screen.Big b ,almost the father figure of India rightly chose KBC and it was historic success.Akshay chose KKK and it suits his persona and image.Hrithik came with Just dance because he is most popular for his dance all over the nation.Salman chose dus ka dum where he could show his fun and outgoing persona.However,srk made the faulty choice of stepping in 1) big b shoes and 2) a family show like kbc both of which he is not suited for.Humility n respect is not exactly his forte and neither does he have the charm of big b.His kbc opened well due to hype but later flopped bcos of his silly mannersims and irreverent way of speaking.I dont bother going into his paanchvi paas and zor ka jhatka for obvious reasons 🙂

    Actualy,for srk best option would have been better to host something on the lines of Movers and Shakers.He is a good orator and can take witty jibes on politics,sports,media,etc.But srk ,it seems was more intersted in copying big b and one-upmanship etc.

    • Baba Ji 12 years ago

      Continuing on this thought I think aamir again made the perfect choice for satyamev jayate bcos he is known in the industry to take risks and make socially relevant films.He is also the brand ambassador of Indian tourism.He has good respect and prestige among his peers and seniors and also his movies are rated 8+ on imdb 🙂

      He is seen by Indian youth as the mini Gandhi or the Raja Ram Mohan Roy of our times.By way of his films and appearances,he challenges the boundaries of cinema and our perspective to life.He will be good for the show.

  4. fearlesssoul 12 years ago

    Everyone has one Story (Kahaani) which has a secrete but in Baba’s case His secrete itself is Story (Kahaani) 😉 What if it (Kahaani) had made an impact on Baba, he would be saying the same thing above

  5. Author
    sputnik 12 years ago

    @Baba,

    You may be right that Aamir probably has a winner on his hands. The show definitely looks like it fits well with his image.

    Here are some tweets by CilemaSnob about the show.

    “For those asking, gonna tweet whatever i know about Satyamev Jayate – 13 episodes, 90mins each, each ends with live performance of a song…”

    “..Sm of the topics covered – health, water, child abuse, marriage/relationship, addiction. As xpctd Aamir is taking all the final edit calls”

    “Imran Khan n Sreedevi (to meet a participant) will appear in two episodes. 10/13 epiosdes have been already shot. N xpect lot of rona-dhona.”

    “Big Synergy was earlier producing the show, wanted to make it more commercial. Aamir Khan Productions took over it n now AKP handling it.”

    “If this works out, they mite do a second season. Also, heard good things abt it from someone who has seen it. Let’s see Jesus Aamir Christ.”

    https://twitter.com/#!/CilemaSnob/status/191941378480156672

    https://twitter.com/#!/CilemaSnob/status/191941735910354945

    https://twitter.com/#!/CilemaSnob/status/191942156938772480

    https://twitter.com/#!/CilemaSnob/status/191942545465544704

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