Aamir Khan: Limelight Stealer (?)

So I've decided to do some fun write ups and features on all things related to Bollywood. And as first, I decided to do one on the uber talented and slightly selfish, Aamir Khan. Talented, well you know why. But selfish! "How dare she?" you're probably thinking. However, I had this thought today while reviewing Dhobi Ghat (which I personally lurved by the way). What really changed Aamir Khan and made him slightly edgy and unconventional was perhaps when he meddled in Deepa Mehta's Earth. Prior to that, Aamir pretty much was yet another mainstream actor. Soon after came Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini, 3 Idiots and more lately, Dhobi Ghat. All of the films listed have worked critically and commercially which went on to establish Aamir Khan and his genre of films; zara hatke. In fact, despite being entertaining and winning awards, all of the films put him on a pedestal which pretty much gave him reins as a filmmaker and actor in the industry. So amidst all this talk of accolades, where does this idea of selfishness come from?

Okay hear me out. What do most of the films above have in common? Some are ensemble casts while the others have seen Aamir launch new talent. But besides Aamir, which of the actors have actually come out on top? And really, all of them are fabulous actors. Gracy Singh may have gotten lucky with Lagaan but post the film, Gracy had to really fight tooth and nail for her role in Munnabhai M.B.B.S. and even then, Sanjay Dutt walked away with the fruits of it all. Dil Chahta Hai made Aamir a youth icon but not the same can be said about Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan. Rang De Basanti created waves but the rest of the cast didn't flourish as much as Aamir did. What did RDB do for R. Madhavan or Sharman Joshi or even Soha Ali Khan? Asin is basically a forgotten deal and yet again post 3 Idiots, Maddy and Joshi are still where they were 5 years ago.

Okay so maybe selfish isn't the ride word; maybe Aamir is a glory hogger and because of his innate popularity has managed to steal the limelight from actors who are as talented as him. And that in itself is selfishness, no?

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