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Evolution of a star
I'll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir
Khan let's get it out straight away. This is not really a biography. So there are no colourful details one would associate with the life of a film actor and a superstar. Hardly any skeletons stumble out and no nasty gossip overtakes the prime purpose of the endeavour.
Trivia and personal details about his second marriage too figure, without sensationalism. It is a filmography offering a blow by blow account of his films. Right from Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, the film that made him the star to the landmark film Lagaan that turned him to a producer and later Taare Zameen Par which saw him debut as a director par excellence. Of course, at times this heavy duty detailing and the dynamics of movie making business do become a bit laborious. Secondary information culled from newspapers, magazines and websites does irritate in the beginning. Over all, the book not only engages, provides an incisive insight into the making of cinema but also creates the character sketch of the phenomenon called Aamir Khan. Largely laudatory and is rarely critical of Aamir. His so called negative qualities like interference in director's work are referred to but supported by the arguments of various directors Daniels rests the case in Aamir's favour. Aamir is one of the few actors in the film industry who evokes great regard. The book not only tells you why but also adds to what makes him so unique. As it climaxes on a perfect note “Aamir Khan follows the eternal sunrise” you dare not disagree. And that's the real triumph of the book that scores a winner by telling the story of a winner with sincerity and conviction.
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The book that states on its cover itself The Incredible Journey is meant to chronicle the evolution of Aamir Khan the actor, does precisely that. Expectedly, the birth of the actor not Aamir Khan the person is recorded in great detail. It harks back to the time when eight -year old Aamir would listen attentively to script narration sessions. Not surprising when Aamir was just 12, his father Tahir Hussain was even seeking his opinion. To what extent those formative moments shaped Aamir the actor, producer and director can't be said with finality yet the man himself acknowledges that it sure did. An interesting aspect is that Aamir Khan the person is both present and absent. Absent for there is no direct interface with him. The book weaves in accounts by a large number of directors and actors, he has worked with, his abiding commitment to cinema and ability to swim against the tide shine through. 