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The Entertainer
In town to promote Peepli Live, writer-actor-director Aamir Khan talks about entertainment, success and why he is no activist.
"I don't see myself as a social activist. I see myself as an entertainer. And I believe my responsibility is to entertain people."
Although Bolly actor-producer Aamir Khan may not see himself as a social activist, his work as actor in Deepa Mehta's Earth, producer on the Oscar-nominated Lagaan and director-producer on his debut Taare Zameen Pari has shown an interest in developing commercially viable, but socially conscious explorations of displacement, colonialism and the modern education system in Indian cinema.
Called the Indian Sean Penn by Time, the 45 year-old has grown from former child star to one of the most financially successful actors of his generation, as his last film - the Bollywood comedy 3 Idiots - grossed over US$6 million in its domestic run in India, making it the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time in its native country.
His new production, Peepli Live, blends his interests in art and entertainment with a modern satire that parodies the media and the Government in its exploration of a farmer's decision over whether to commit suicide to secure aid for his family. In a Network-like twist, the farmer, Natha (Omkar Das), is further strained by the media's intrusion into his village, creating a whirlwind of national coverage for his beleaguered neighbours.
Khan says that writer-director Anusha Rizvi's film deals with the growing distance between rural and metropolitan India (saying that it concerns "how we, as a society, tend to focus all our energies and resources towards our cities. And in the process ignore our villages in rural India, which is where a bulk of our population lives."), but says that he primarily responded to the film on an emotional level.
"When I am reading a script, I am an audience like you when watching a film. That is how I am when I am reading a script so it is important that the script entertains and engages me, makes me laugh, makes me cry, moves me and excites me. If it does all of these things and it touches upon something social, that affects all of us, then all the better," Khan says.
Speaking before his film's Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Khan expressed admiration of other Indian films that do not quite fall under the umbrella of Bollywood cinema. Whilst he enjoys mainstream Bollywood films, he feels that the success of films such as Peepli Live shows that audiences are ready for a different type of experience from Indian films.
"I think there have been a number of films that have been released that are successful that do not fall into the definition of what is mainstream Indian cinema," Khan says.
Peepli Live will be released nationally on August 13.
Picture caption: Khan at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2010. Taken by Anirudh Asher.