Aamir makes guest appearance, hogs limelight

Quick question. Who got the biggest crowd and the brightest flashbulbs at the Jaipur Literature Festival? A Ian McEwan b Donna Tartt c Manil Suri d Aamir Khan. Well, that wasn8217;t a toughie. Correct answer: d.

The superstar, who wanted to meet Gore Vidal, texted the organisers, 8220;I8217;m destroyed8221;, when he heard the writer-provocateur had decided to give Jaipur a miss. But Khan did turn up on Saturday and if you wondered what an actor was doing at a literature festival, he sounded cerebral enough, making Bollywood sound like a Stanislavski hardback. 8220;Everything flows from my understanding of the character,8221; he said, getting up from his chair to demonstrate how he decided on the body language of Bhuwan in Lagaan, never slouching and curling his eyelashes to give a touch of innocence, and the energetic Akash, with his chin thrust forward, in Dil Chahta Hai.

Khan said he acted like an assiduous aashiq lover, not like a self-absorbed maashuq beloved, but refused to comment when asked if Shah Rukh Khan was the maashuq. In between he sounded erudite enough: 8220;loved Willie8217;s City of Djinns and When Nietzche Wept8221;; bashed the media: 8220;news channels should call themselves entertainment channels8221;; couldn8217;t decide on which dead and famous person he would like to have dinner with: 8220;it has to be either Marilyn Monroe or Gandhi8221;.

It is a long shot, but next year Jaipur may have a literary superstar drawing in the biggest crowd. Otherwise, hey, there is always Shah Rukh.