‘If I die in a plane crash…’: Aamir Khan says he writes a secret note for Mansoor Khan before every flight

“I got to know this recently, and I’m under huge stress,” Mansoor told The Hollywood Reporter India. “He’s one person whose instinct I trust fully. That’s what I’ve told Kiran (Rao, ex-wife) a number of times — if something happens to me, makes sure you run it by Mansoor,” added Aamir. The two have worked together on seminal films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1994), along with Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995).

Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.

But their relationship had its own share of hurdles in the late 1990s over the casting of Josh, where Mansoor wanted Shah Rukh Khan to play Max and Aamir to play his arch nemesis Rahul. “When I narrated it to Aamir, I didn’t tell him who was supposed to play which role. So he started imagining that he’d be playing Max. I thought, ‘Oh no, now what do I do?’,” Mansoor told SCREEN last year. After Shah Rukh gave his nod to Max, Mansoor went back to Aamir.

“He’d already done a lot of soft-boy, lover-boy parts. And he’d also done that tapori role in Rangeela (1995), so he wanted to change his image. So he said no on his own,” said Mansoor, revealing that when Aamir watched Josh, he “hated” it. Rahul’s role was eventually played by Chandrachur Singh.

Mansoor says Aamir doesn’t like ‘vulgar’ scenes

Mansoor pointed out that Aamir has reservations about certain kind of content, which also reflected while they were trying to arrive at the texture of Ek Din. “Aamir is very particular about using a scene with something vulgar. There were some (scenes in Ek Din). As English audiences or metro audiences, you’d say, ‘Damn good yaar!’ So, he’d trim out all that. Boring bana deta hai (he makes the scenes boring),” said Mansoor, laughing.

But Aamir countered Mansoor’s argument by claiming that he also produced Abhinay Deo’s 2011 black comedy Delhi Belly, starring Imran, Kunaal Roy Kapur, and Vir Das. “Delhi Belly is one of the most irreverent films, which had a lot of bad language. So, you’ve to stick to the truth of the film you’re making,” claimed Aamir. Earlier this year, when the film completed 15 years, Aamir recalled at a celebratory event how even Amitabh Bachchan warned him against using expletives in the teaser of Delhi Belly.

Aamir Khan produced Delhi Belly, one of the most irreverent Hindi films.

Mansoor also pointed out that he and Aamir also argue over inclusion of English words in dialogues. “I don’t like English words in a Hindi film. You’re making a Hindi film, but half of the words are in English,” said Aamir. “What we don’t realize is, because we speak in both Hindi and English in cities, if a person doesn’t speak a language, even one word can make them not understand the whole sentence. Imagine a Japanese or Chinese word popping up in a Hindi or English movie, which you don’t get at all, you’d wonder did I miss something? It’s very irritating for the audience,” added Aamir.

Going back to Delhi Belly, Aamir said earlier this year that he also corrected the first teaser of the film, where he felt Vir, Abhinay, and writer Akshat Verma were conversing a lot in English. “Yeh teeno itna English mein kyu baat karahe hain? Apni audience Hindi ki hai, humko angrezi mein nahi chahiye. I feel that jitna Kam angrezi istemaal karein utna better hai (Converse in Hindi language as much as possible, we don’t need English, our audience prefers Hindi),” Aamir opined back then.

Mansoor, Aamir on future of their kids

Mansoor’s daughter Zayn Marie is also an actor, who most recently appeared in Shaneil Deo’s action romance Dacoit: A Love Story earlier this month. Junaid’s last film, Advait Chandan’s romantic comedy Loveyapa, couldn’t set the cash registers ringing at the box office last year. But Aamir and Mansoor maintain that they don’t worry as much about their kids and want them to have their own journeys as artists.

“As parents, of course, we’d want our kids to do well in life. But I feel they’re already doing well,” said Aamir. “Certainly, each one of us has a journey. Very rarely you have a first film, like mine and Mansoor’s (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak), that went off the roof. Normally, actors take time to build a relationship with their audience through a series of works,” he added.

Sai Pallavi and Junaid Khan in Ek Din.

Aamir and Mansoor admitted it’s only once-in-a-decade that you have a breakthrough launch vehicle like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Rakesh Roshan’s 2000 romantic drama Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, starring Hrithik Roshan, and Raj Kapoor’s 1973 romantic drama Bobby, starring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.

Aamir pointed out that even greats like Rishi’s uncle Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan had to undergo long journeys before they finally arrived. “Shammi uncle, Amit ji, and a lot of actors went through failure for years before they finally saw success,” said Aamir, adding, “Each time has its own challenges, but the essence doesn’t change.”

He called building a relationship with the audience a “very organic thing”, which can’t be planned, but just happens on its own. “You can buy tickets and pretend your film is a success. But that doesn’t guarantee you a relationship with the audience. You’ve bought tickets, but the theatres are running empty (laughs). So, ultimately, it’s the connection an actor or a director builds with the audience that matters,” said Aamir.

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Lasy year, Aamir told SCREEN that he thinks of Junaid as a “pretty good actor”. “He has a very rare quality that even a lot of skilled actors don’t have — he becomes the character. He’s also a little unafraid, like me. If you compare Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak with his first two films, I’m very raw there,” said Aamir. “All his three films (Maharaj, Loveyapa, and Ek Din) are very different from each other. Success hasn’t reached him yet in the way he deserves it, but that’s part of life and his learning. It’s important for him to grow through this as well. Success will come when the time is right,” added Aamir.