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The Evolution of 'A' Khan




As a young girl in 1988, I remember watching Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT) on video with a friend in her house in Chennai. Aamir Khan mesmerized us. We were schoolgirls in double pigtails. Life happened. I grew up. My tastes in men and heroes changed.

Christina Daniels, the author of "I'll do it my way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir Khan,” says in her epilogue, "On a cold dark night in a boarding school in Panchgani, a group of 12-year-old girls sat huddled under a dormitory bed. The year was 1988. A walkman was passed around, as the girls strained to listen to the song 'Papa Kehte Hain' from the film QSQT that had been released a couple of vacations ago. The name on all lips was Aamir Khan, the film's lead actor. The walkman soon found its way into the hands of the only teenager in the group completely oblivious to the QSQT frenzy that had gripped an entire generation. While the song played on, someone helpfully offered an accompanying line-by-line translation. As the lyrics formed meaning in my mind, I was hooked."

First published in 2012, Christina's book has since come out with a Turkish edition. It briefly captures the early years of Aamir Khan, and then delves into the 'behind-the-scenes' work on all his major films from QSQT until '3 idiots'. The author has done meticulous research and has quoted almost every resource available from the website rediff to The Guardian. But what makes this more than just a book with second-hand research featuring interviews with a few producers and directors is the way she has strung it all together, which makes for a narrative that flows well.

The Guardian compared Aamir to Errol Flynn in 2003. A director compares him to Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, and Marlon Brando. To know more, read the book.  It has come out with an updated edition in 2017, with a new cover and is available for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Talking about Aamir's childhood years, the author says Aamir read his first Enid Blyton when he was just six. Soon Alfred Hitchcock, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, P.G. Wodehouse, Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy followed.

Christina, who I know since 2013, has described Aamir Khan's dedication to his craft. She elaborates on how he learned various dialects for different roles, tried different looks, experimented with his physique to look a certain age for a part, his willpower, and so on with meticulous detail outlining the making of each film, how it was received, its critique and so on. She also talks about his different advertisements.

What I felt about the book is that it seems to be a hagiography of Aamir Khan. It doesn't point out anything negative or unsavory about him.


I recommend it to die-hard fans of Aamir Khan.

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