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"TZP makes me a proud actor and director"- Aamir Khan
Needless to say, with his clout, he can have just about any role in any script that comes out of any word processor in Bollywood, just by expressing the slightest interest. His Taare Zameen Par too came out of something that interested him; so much so, that he went on to direct it. In this exclusive interview over the phone, Devansh Patel spoke to the quintessential Aamir Khan about his love for kids, what makes him a better father, why he doesn't want to force people to go and watch Taare Zameen Par and much more.
Now
with
Taare
Zameen
Par,
is
it
right
in
saying
that
now
Aamir
Khan
is
on
cloud
nine?
Not
yet.
Frankly
speaking,
I
think
I
am
waiting
for
the
response
from
the
audiences
and
I'm
hoping
that
the
people
like
the
film.
So,
once
I
know
the
response,
I'll
know
how
to
react.
Tell
me
why
and
how
did
the
title
Taare
Zameen
Par
was
selected
to
be
apt
for
the
film?
Taare
Zameen
Par
is
a
film
about
children
and
it's
a
film
which
celebrates
the
abilities
of
children.
Taare
Zameen
Par
is
a
title,
which
denotes
that
aspect.
It's
a
title
with
a
very
positive
feel
to
it.
All
the
kids
are
special
and
wonderful.
They
are
like
stars
on
earth.
This
particular
aspect
gave
birth
to
the
title.
But
having
said
that,
was
Taare
Zameen
Par
the
first
and
the
last
choice?
The
working
title
was
something
else,
and
then
I,
Amol
Gupte
and
Deepa
Bhatia
discussed
what
should
be
the
most
suitable
title
for
the
film.
At
this
moment,
I
can't
remember
which
one
of
us
came
up
with
Taare
Zameen
Par.
Lagaan
took
you
to
the
Oscars;
Rang
De
Basanti
took
you
to
the
BAFTA's.
Where
do
you
think
Taare
Zameen
Par
is
going
to
take
you?
(Laughs)
I
have
no
idea.
I
hope
that
what
we've
made
with
so
much
love
and
care
goes
down
well
with
the
audience,
which
has
always
been
my
prime
concern.
I
make
films
for
my
audience
and
for
me,
the
audience
liking
it
is
the
biggest
success
that
I
can
ask
for.
Music
has
always
been
an
important
ingredient
of
Indian
cinema.
Don't
you
think
Taare
Zameen
Par's
music
is
restricted
only
to
the
film
and
not
beyond
that?
No,
I
don't
think
so.
Taare
Zameen
Par
has
a
great
soundtrack.
I
really
love
the
music.
I
think
Shankar,
Ehsaan
and
Loy
have
done
a
great
job
of
coming
up
with
very
melodious
tunes
and
Prasoon
Joshi
has
written
some
wonderful
lyrics.
So
I'm
really
happy
with
the
music.
I
think
that
even
on
it's
own
it
stands
really
well
and
I'm
sure
that
when
people
see
it
in
the
cinemas,
they'll
love
it
even
more.
Which
is
your
favourite
track
from
the
film?
That's
a
tough
one
for
me
to
decide
because
I
like
all
of
them.
I
think
each
one
is
special
and
each
one
is
so
appropriate
for
each
situation.
Don't
you
think
that
as
a
child,
Darsheel
Safary
who
plays
the
central
character
in
Taare
Zameen
Par
would
have
lost
his
focus
on
studies
by
being
a
part
of
the
film?
Well,
we
took
a
lot
of
care
on
that.
I
think
that
Darsheel
is
a
bright
kid
who
has
done
a
great
job
in
the
film.
But
as
far
as
his
studies
are
concerned,
we
discussed
that
with
his
parents,
teachers
and
principal
in
school.
We
actually
had
a
tutor
with
him
right
through
the
shoot
who
was
retained
for
a
year
and
a
half
after
we
finished
the
shooting
of
the
film
to
make
sure
that
anything
he
may
have
missed,
he
has
all
the
opportunity
to
catch
up
on.
So,
we
made
sure
that
he
had
personal
and
private
attention
from
the
tutor.
The
only
thing
which
moves
Aamir
Khan
is
the
script
and
you've
been
a
part
of
brilliantly
executed
scripts
like
Lagaan
and
Rang
De
Basanti
to
name
a
few.
Then
why
choose
to
direct
Taare
Zameen
Par
when
you
could
have
directed
any
good
script
before?
All
the
films
that
you're
mentioning
and
the
films
that
I
have
done
as
an
actor
were
offered
to
me
as
an
actor
and
the
individuals
who
directed
those
films
were
all
extremely
talented,
experienced
and
well
known.
I
was
fortunate
to
have
worked
with
them.
Taare
Zameen
Par
too
was
not
meant
to
be
directed
by
me.
Initially,
I
was
only
producing
and
acting
in
it
and
eventually
went
down
to
direct
it.
I
have
no
hesitation
in
saying
that
I'm
very
happy
that
I've
directed
Taare
Zameen
Par
because
I
think
it's
a
film
that
I
can
be
proud
of
as
an
actor,
producer
and
as
a
director.
What
was
the
crucial
factor
that
made
you
decide
to
take
over
the
director's
role
from
Amol
Gupte
who
was
the
original
director
of
Taare
Zameen
Par?
Amol
is
the
writer
of
the
film
and
he
was
originally
directing
the
film.
After
the
first
one
week
of
shoot
when
I
saw
the
rushes,
I
had
certain
reservations
about
the
way
it
was
being
shot
and
I
discussed
it
with
him.
As
it
turned
out,
we
both
had
differences
over
some
things
and
me
being
a
person
who
is
more
creative
than
being
a
producer,
the
first
thing
I
said
to
him
was
that
if
I
had
reservations,
I
should
step
back.
In
addition
to
that
since
he
has
worked
so
hard
on
the
script
that
he
has
written
with
such
love
and
care,
I'd
like
to
hand
it
back
to
him.
I
did
what
was
fair
and
correct.
Amol
then
gave
it
a
thought,
came
back
the
next
day,
and
told
me
that
he
would
not
like
to
direct
this
film
and
we
sat
and
discussed
whom
to
take
on
board
as
a
director.
Many
names
cropped
up
and
finally
we
decided
that
we
needed
someone
who
could
pick
up
from
there
and
start
shooting
because
we
were
very
happy
with
the
child
and
we
did
not
want
to
risk
delaying
the
film
by
the
child
growing
up
in
the
process
and
start
looking
for
some
other
child.
Taare
Zameen
Par
is
a
film
that
can't
be
made
without
the
correct
casting
of
the
child
and
this
was
the
key
factor
in
me
deciding
to
take
on
the
direction
of
the
film.
I
jumped
on
to
the
deep
end
and
the
next
day
I
was
on
set
as
a
director.
Any
fond
memories
you'd
like
to
share
with
us
while
you
were
on
the
hot
seat
directing
the
film?
Well,
the
whole
process
was
quite
challenging
and
exciting.
I
think
that
working
with
children
comes
with
it's
own
challenges.
It
was
great
fun
but
it
can
be
testing
at
times,
especially
when
you
have
forty
kids
with
own
individuality
and
characteristics.
It
was
important
for
us
to
work
around
the
children
and
their
energy
and
time
constraints.
So
we
made
sure
that
the
kids
were
happy
and
comfortable.
We
were
pretty
much
around
for
them.
