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'It was the toughest of roles because he had to change quickly behind the sofa and come out in the next dress!'
Mansoor Khan was 30 when he directed younger cousin Aamir Khan, 23, in his debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.
Even though Mansoor turned his back on filmmaking and moved to a quiet abode in the Nilgiris, the cousins share a close bond.
"It was clear from QSQT that Aamir had a head for logistics and was very sincere. Now that he has achieved so much more, I feel he is the older brother and I am the younger," Mansoor tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com, sharing personal memories of the shy boy who went became one of the biggest names in Hindi cinema and celebrated his 60th birthday on March 14.
'He was very shy as a boy'
I'm seven years older than Aamir.
He was very shy as a boy.
If you ask Aamir, he will say 'Hum log Mansoor ki dum the'. [We followed Mansoor like his tail.]
I was the captain, the gang leader or should I say dictator, telling them, 'Do this, do that'.
They used to come to our bungalow in Pali Hill (Bandra, northwest Mumbai) and participate in all kinds of projects that I would undertake, like digging an underground tunnel, a swimming pool, making a robotic hand that could pick up anything around the room, etc, etc.
We have built a comfortable relationship through the years and have a lovely equation.
But Aamir is closer to my sister. He confides in Nuzhat partly because I am a very bad secret keeper.
'Aamir didn't like Josh'
Right from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak,it was clear that Aamir had a head for logistics and was very sincere.
Since it was his first film, he would keep quiet and not give suggestions. He was in learning mode and gradually went on to get a better grip.
Now that he has achieved so much more, I feel he is the older brother and I am the younger.
The roles are reversed but he respects my thoughts and the person I am, and I respect him.
I tell him where he is good and where he has made a mistake on scripts.
He is also very open with me. He told me he didn't like Josh.
'Aamir is good at almost all sports and is highly competitive'
When he visited me in Coonoor for the first time, he didn't have a clue about what I was doing. He had heard that I had bought land, was tending cows and making cheese.
He thought I was sitting, drinking gin and playing rummy through the day!
I told him I was not wasting time and doing my own things like writing books, composing music etc.
I think he understands why I live here because he has been going to his own place in Panchgani regularly.
Aamir is good at almost all sports and is highly competitive. He played a lot of badminton with club members when he visited me.
The toughest role he ever played
The whole family came to Coonoor for my 60th birthday and surprised me with a play upon my life.
All the family members, including little Azad (Aamir's younger son) and Imara (Imran Khan's daughter) participated.
Aamir played the roles of four house helps, one of them a woman. It was the toughest of roles because he had to change quickly behind the sofa and come out in the next dress!
Imran was my dad. Kiran (Rao) my mum. Avantika (Malik, Imran's then wife) played Tina (Mansoor's wife), Junaid was me in college.
He bought a wig because I used to have of thick mop of hair when I was young. I asked Junaid to leave it behind because I need it now!
It was great fun.
Aamir is very committed to family and close friends.
He makes deep bonds and will call them for every trial or function.
He is very emotional. I remember I had a medical episode some years ago and he started crying when he heard about it.
He wanted to come to Coonoor, but could not because of the pandemic.
'He is a big reader. He loves history'
He is a big reader. He loves history. Unlike me who has stacks of books that I don't read, he reads them.
I was thrilled that he liked my second book One: The Story of the Ultimate Myth. which is fiction.
He has given a blurb for the book. He rarely does that.
If I had written a nonsense book, he would have told me like he did for Josh!
I narrated the book to Kiran, Aamir, Ira and her husband. I was very tense because book reading is different from a script narration.
He liked it and said he wanted to make it into a film. He has said that after July 2025, he will be concentrating on One.
One will turn your head upside down. Aamir just freaked out!
'I hate shooting, but do it because he is my family'
I was in Coonoor when he called me for Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. He was going to postpone the film because he was busy with Tare Zameen Par and then Ghajini.
He told me, either I postpone this or you come here tomorrow.
Since I had given up directing films, I was a supporting director in Jaane Tu...
For Ek Din, Junaid's next film, I went to Japan for the shooting last year.
I hear scripts and give feedback. I heard about seven scripts for Aamir.
I hate shooting, but do it because he is my family.
