Aamir Khan turns 57: Here's a look at the actor's lesser-known facts

From 'Raja Hindustani' to 'Ghulam' to 'Dil Chahta Hai' and many other superhit films, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has surely come a long way. As he turns a year older, let’s take a look at the rare known facts of Aamir Khan aka ‘Mr. Perfectionist'

Parents opposition

Aamir Khan's parents were against of his idea of him joining films. Because, according to them, a career in films was volatile. Even though his parents wanted him to pursue engineering, Aamir Khan somehow managed to go for shooting by pretending that he was going to a hockey match. It is this passion of his to become an actor, which has made him what he is today.

Aamir Khan's debut film

Aamir Khan first appeared on screen at the age of 8 years in a small role in his uncle Nasir Hussain's 1973 film 'Yaadon Ki Baarat'. As an adult, his first acting project was a brief role in the 1984 social drama 'Holi'. 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak', which released in 1988, was Aamir Khan’s debut film as a leading man. Not many know that the film was shot with two endings- a happy one and a tragic one. Ultimately, it was the tragic ending (where both Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawlas characters die in the film) got retained. The film went onto become a superhit film of those times. The film gave Bollywood its very own chocolate hero in the form of Aamir Khan. In other words, Aamir Khan had arrived … in Bollywood!

'Mr. Perfectionist'

Aamir Khan started getting referred to as 'Mr. Perfectionist' in accordance with his work ethics and also jaw-dropping transformations that he undergoes for his varied roles. The following are the films for which Aamir Khan pushed the envelope for getting into the skin of the character.

• For the film 'Dangal', Aamir Khan went from weighing 96kgs to a stunningly superfit 68kg, which was doubled up with six-pack abs in mere five months flat!
• In order to maintain accuracy and consistency of a scene in the film 'Ghulam', Aamir ‘Mr. Perfectionist’ Khan didn't bathe for a stretch of 12 days!
• Did you know that Aamir Khan ate as many as around 10,000 paans while shooting for his film 'PK', just to get the right color inside his mouth & his lips.

From 'Taare Zameen Par' to 'Ghajini', to '3 Idiots' among others, Aamir Khan has never failed to get into the skin of every character he played.

'No' to award shows

Aamir Khan was not always against award shows. But things changed in the year 1996, after his film 'Rangeela' lost the ‘Best Film’ award to Shah Rukh Khan's 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'. Post that, Aamir Khan decided not to attend any film functions. But, in the year 2017, Aamir Khan broke his vow and had made an exception after the (late) singer Lata Mangeshkar had invited him to attend Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards to commemorate her father’s 75th death anniversary. It was here, Aamir Khan was honoured with prestigious 'Vishesh Puraskar Award', for his 2016 smash hit film 'Dangal'.

Aamir Khan's personal life

Reena Dutt was Aamir's first wife. She is believed to have had a big hand in shaping up his career. Unfortunately, things didn't go well for the two and they parted ways in the year 2002, after being married for 15 years. They have two kids from the marriage viz., son Junaid Khan and daughter Ira Khan.

Post that, Aamir Khan got married to Kiran Rao in 2005. He had met her on the sets of 'Lagaan' in 2001, when she was working as one of the Assistant Directors to film maker Ashutosh Gowariker. However, after 15 years of marriage, in the year 2021, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao announced their separation on the social media. They described their divorce not as an end, but as the start of a new journey. Both, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao said that they will remain devoted parents to their son Azad, whom they had welcomed through surrogacy in 2011.

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