Aamir
Khan
let
Jaane
Tu
Ya
Jaane
Na
director
Aabbas
tyre
wala
shower
praises
for
the
way
he
treated.
Once
again
the
rules
of
this
blog
stop
me
from
editing
what
Abbas
has
written.
Let
me
warn
you
that
Abbas
is
rather
generous
with
his
word
count.
Also,
I
hate
stuff
written
about
me.
Well
anyway
here
goes.
P.S.
-
Based
on
requests
we'll
have
the
song
on
for
2
weeks
instead
of
1.
December
2005.
In
a
small
office-cottage
in
Aram
Nagar,
I
sat
alone
with
my
girlfriend
Pakhi.
Most
of
the
technical
crew
contracted
to
work
on
a
film
called
Jaane
Tu...
Ya
Jaane
Na
had
slowly
drifted
away
–aware
through
an
unspoken
understanding
that
the
prospects
for
our
film
getting
made
anytime
soon
looked
bleak.
This
was
the
office
that
we
had
chosen
and
done
up
in
shades
of
happy
red
to
be
the
home
of
JTYJN.
The
lease
was
about
to
end,
and
we
had
not
shot
for
a
single
day.
We
were
talking
about
the
fact
that
even
though
the
film
had
not
gotten
made,
it
had
led
to
the
discovery
of
such
amazing
people:
she,
my
wife-to-be.
My
cameraman
Manoj
Lobo.
So
many
members
of
my
fresh-from-the-oven
cast
and
crew.
And
this
wonderful,
incredibly
warm
and
funny
boy
called
Imran
who
would
have
been
so
perfect
for
the
part
of
Jai
Singh
Rathore.
Oh
what
the
heck!
There
would
be
other
times
and
other
films,
and
we
would
all
find
a
way
to
work
together
again.
Just
then
Imran
dropped
by.
He
used
to
work
out
in
the
area
and
used
to
drop
by
to
inquire
if
we
were
making
any
progress.
I
had
started
feeling
a
slight
pang
of
guilt
every
time
I
saw
him.
Here
was
a
guy
not
particularly
interested
in
acting
in
Hindi
films,
who
had
now
taken
to
the
idea
of
playing
a
character
that
would
never
see
the
light
of
a
Kino.
Jhamu
Sugandh
was
a
wonderful
man
and
a
generous
producer,
but
his
situation
was
precarious
and
we
had
finally
realised
that
he
would
not
be
able
to
see
the
film
through.
After
a
few
cursories,
Imran
asked
if
I
was
willing
to
approach
another
producer
with
the
film.
In
that
instant,
I
knew
the
producer
he
had
in
mind.
He
said
that
Aamir
had
heard
the
story
and
had
been
reasonably
impressed
with
it
when
Imran
had
come
aboard.
He
was
now
willing
to
give
it
a
serious
listen
and
consider
producing
it.
I
looked
at
Pakhi,
who
had
never,
ever
let
me
give
up
on
the
film.
Her
eyes
were
shining
–
I"m
not
sure
if
it
was
just
excitement.
Cut
to:
May
2008.
Aamir
Khan
took
Jaane
Tu...
to
his
fans
with
a
fervour
and
vengeance
that
I
have
never
seen
in
a
producer,
director
or
an
actor
ever
before.
He
introduced
Imran
to
his
fans
with
a
warmth
and
affection
that
few
fathers
bring
to
their
own
children.
He
got
switched
on
every
limelight
that
could
only
be
switched
on
for
a
Super-Khan,
and
then
trained
it
on
a
first-time
director
and
his
raw,
wet-behind-the-ears
team.
He
stood
up
and
said,
"If
my
films
have
meant
anything
to
you,
know
that
this
is
my
film."
There
we
were
in
Pune,
with
a
crowd
of
eight
thousand
singing
Jaane
Tu
Ya
Jaane
Na...
along
with
Imran
while
Aamir
smiled
on.
Another
ten
thousand
people
on
the
streets
of
Nagpur
singing
"Kabhi
Kabhi
Aditi..." along
with
Aamir
while
I
laughed
in
delight.
And
three
floors
of
a
mall
in
Delhi
bursting
at
the
seams
with
people
yelling
“Meow,
Meow"
to
Genilia
as
we
walked
in.
And
all
I
could
remember
was
the
time
when
I
complained
to
Aamir
regarding
his
unavailability
as
a
producer.
TZP
was
taking
up
all
his
time
and
I
was
feeling
a
little
cheated
because
I
couldn"t
get
a
day
of
discussion
slotted
into
his
schedule.
And
he
had
said,
"Abbas,
I'm
giving
you
Mansoor
Khan.
I
believe
he
is
the
best
director
I
have
ever
seen.
You
won't
miss
me.
I
really
think
you
guys
will
do
a
great
job.
As
for
my
role
as
producer,
I
promise
you
that
when
the
time
comes
to
promote
and
publicize
Jaane
Tu...,
you
will
not
feel
that
I
have
neglected
the
film."
Luckily,
he
did
manage
to
steal
some
time
along
the
way.
When
I
saw
the
first
rushes
of
Jaane
Tu,
I
was
stumped.
Could
a
film
possibly
look
this
awful?
Even
Mansoor
bhai
was
sombre.
Imran,
I
suspect,
was
devastated.
It
looked
like
complete
rubbish
to
us.
I
was
quite
certain
Aamir
would
want
to
cut
his
losses
and
put
an
end
to
the
nonsense.
Instead,
he
smiled
and
said,
"Its
fine.
It
looks
good
to
me."
I
remember
wondering
if
an
entire
generation
(or
two)
had
over-estimated
Aamir
Khan.
But
he
was
insistent
that
it
was
working.
He
simply
reaffirmed
his
only
request/demand
as
a
producer
–
which
was
that
I
shoot
exactly
the
script
I
had
narrated
to
him.
He
was
aware,
I
think,
of
how
fidgety
I
was
getting
about
shooting
such
a
simple
tale.
Evil
gangsters
were
beckoning
to
me
from
the
shadows,
making
cinematic
suggestions
I
could
not
refuse.
How
could
I
spend
such
a
large
chunk
of
my
life
telling
a
story
about
two
kids
in
love?
Especially
when
I
was
clearly
ruining
it.
And
with
a
producer
notorious
(at
least
in
the
secret
circles
of
gossip)
for
being
dissatisfied
with
most
directors?
All
he
said
was,
"You
haven't
seen
too
many
assemblies,
have
you?
Most
look
worse.
As
far
as
you
shoot
the
script
you
narrated
to
me,
you'll
be
ok."
And
for
weeks
months
all
of
us
rode
his
naive
confidence.
We
hung
in
there,
hoping
he
wasn"t
as
wrong
as
a
film
release
during
a
world
cup
final,
and
saw
the
film
through.
And
I
must
admit,
as
we
went
along,
we
started
thinking
of
it
less
as
awful,
and
more
as
just
a
bit
dull.
When
the
first
cut
of
the
film
was
screened
for
the
core
team,
almost
everyone
was
stunned.
By
almost
everyone,
I
mean
everyone
including
Mansoor
bhai,
Imran
and
myself.
The
only
person
who
sat
there
grinning
smugly
was
Aamir
Khan.
His
belief
in
the
value
of
a
good
script
had
been
vindicated
yet
again.
Now,
we
all
start
off
on
journeys
of
our
own.
I
to
make
another
film
without
Aamir
to
tell
me
it
will
be
ok.
Imran
on
his
next
few
projects
without
a
doting
uncle
to
say,
"Watch
him,
he's
terrific."
Genilia
to
prove
that
Jaane
Tu
is
just
the
beginning
of
her
calibre
as
an
actor,
not
the
limit.
In
the
long
run,
all
of
us
are
on
commission,
not
on
salary.
And
we
will
have
to
earn
our
place
in
the
cluttered
shelves
of
your
attentions
and
affections.
But
for
today,
I
say
to
all
of
you
who
love
Aamir
Khan...
he's
played
human.
He's
played
hero.
He's
played
cricketer
and
cop,
rebel
and
revolutionary,
gangster
and
goon.
But
on
Jaane
Tu...
he
has
played
for
the
first
time
a
superhero.
He
flew
to
our
rescue,
and
then
let
us
fly.
He
gave
us
hope,
and
then
kept
the
faith.
He
trusted
us,
and
because
we
trusted
him,
we
learnt
to
trust
ourselves.
Someone
please
give
the
man
a
cape.
Abbas
Tyrewala.