Aamir Khan
Mr. Perfectionist of Indian cinema
Aamir Hussain Khan (born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality known for his work in Hindi cinema. Often called "Mr. Perfectionist" by the media, he has spent over three decades building a reputation as one of the most significant figures in Indian film. His career has earned him nine Filmfare Awards, four National Film Awards, and an AACTA Award. The Indian government gave him the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2010, and China’s government granted him an honorary title in 2017.
Khan first appeared on screen as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain’s film *Yaadon Ki Baaraat* (1973). His first adult role came in *Holi* (1984), and he began acting full-time with a lead part in *Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak* (1988). A performance in 1989 earned him a Special Mention award. Throughout the 1990s, he became a leading actor with hits like *Dil* (1990), *Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin* (1991), *Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar* (1992), *Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke* (1993), *Rangeela* (1995), *Akele Hum Akele Tum* (1995), *Raja Hindustani* (1996)—which brought him his first Filmfare Best Actor award—*Ghulam* (1998), and *Sarfarosh* (1999).
In 1999, he founded Aamir Khan Productions. Its first film, *Lagaan* (2001), was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won him a National Film Award for Best Popular Film, plus two Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Best Film. That same year, *Dil Chahta Hai* was both a critical and commercial success. After a four-year break, he returned with leading roles in *Rang De Basanti* (2006) and *Fanaa* (2006). His directorial debut came in 2007, winning Filmfare Awards for Best Film and Best Director. His biggest commercial successes—*Ghajini* (2008), *3 Idiots* (2009), *Dhoom 3* (2013), *PK* (2014), and *Dangal* (2016)—each held the record as the highest-grossing Indian film at the time. He won his third Filmfare Best Actor award for *Dangal*.
Khan has a large following, especially in India and China, and *Newsweek* once called him "the most bankable movie star in the world." He regularly appears on lists of the 500 Most Influential Muslims globally. He also created and hosted the talk show *Satyamev Jayate*. His social reform work earned him a spot on the *Time* 100 list of most influential people in 2013.
Born Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan on 14 March 1965 in Bombay, he is the son of film producer Tahir Hussain and Zeenat Hussain from Varanasi. He is the second of four siblings, with a younger brother, Faisal Khan, and two sisters, Farhat and Nikhat Khan. His family traces roots to Herat in Afghanistan; his paternal grandfather was a Pashtun zamindar schoolteacher, and his paternal grandmother was an Arab from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and a niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Khan has expressed interest in making a film about Azad. Najma Heptulla, the 16th Governor of Manipur and Azad’s grand-niece, is his cousin.
Several relatives work in Hindi cinema. His late paternal uncle, Nasir Hussain, was a producer-director. Nasir’s son, Mansoor Khan, is a director who cast Aamir in most of his films, while Nasir’s grandson (through his daughter), Imran Khan, is a former actor. Through his mother, Khan is a nephew of the Fazli brothers, filmmakers in both India and Pakistan.
As a child, he appeared in two minor roles. At eight, he acted in *Yaadon Ki Baaraat* (1973), Bollywood’s first masala film. The next year, he played the younger version of Mahendra Sandhu’s character in *Madhosh*. He attended J.B. Petit School for pre-primary, St. Anne’s High School in Bandra until eighth grade, and Bombay Scottish School in Mahim for ninth and tenth. He played tennis at state-level championships and became a state-level champion, saying he was "much more into sports than studies." He finished twelfth grade at Mumbai’s Narsee Monjee College. He described his childhood as "tough" because of his father’s financial struggles with unsuccessful film productions, recalling at least 30 creditor calls daily and the constant risk of expulsion from school for unpaid fees.
At sixteen, Khan worked on a 40-minute silent film, *Paranoia*, directed by school friend Aditya Bhattacharya and funded by filmmaker Shriram Lagoo. His parents wanted him to pursue a steady career like engineering or medicine, so the shoot was kept secret. He played the lead alongside Neena Gupta and Victor Banerjee while also assisting Bhattacharya. He said the experience encouraged him to pursue film.
He then joined the theatre group Avantar, working backstage for over a year. His stage debut was a small role in the Gujarati play *Kesar Bina* at Prithvi Theatre. He later acted in two Hindi plays and one English play, *Clearing House*. After high school, he stopped studying and worked as an assistant director to Hussain on the films *Manzil Manzil* and *Zabardast*.
In 2007, he lost a custody battle for his younger brother Faisal to their father, Tahir Hussain, who died on 2 February 2010. Khan is a practising Muslim.
- born
- 14 March 1965, Bombay, India
- field
- Actor, filmmaker, television personality
- nationality
- Indian
- known_for
- Leading roles in Hindi films; social reform work; talk show Satyamev Jayate
- awards
- Nine Filmfare Awards, four National Film Awards, AACTA Award, Padma Shri (2003), Padma Bhushan (2010)
Lore & Background
Aamir Khan first appeared on screen as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). As an adult, his first feature film role was in Holi (1984). He began a full-time acting career with a leading role in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). His performance in Raakh (1989) earned him recognition the Special Mention category. He established himself as a leading actor in the 1990s by appearing in a number of commercially successful films, including Dil (1990), Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), Rangeela (1995), Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), Raja Hindustani (1996) for which he won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor, Ghulam (1998), and Sarfarosh (1999). In 1999, he founded Aamir Khan Productions, whose first film, Lagaan (2001), was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and earned him a National Film Award for Best Popular Film and two more Filmfare Awards (Best Actor and Best Film). His next Dil Chahta Hai (2001) was a critical and commercial success. After a four-year hiatus, Khan returned to appear in leading roles, notably in Rang De Basanti (2006) and Fanaa (2006). He made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par (2007), which won him the Filmfare Awards for Best Film and Best Director. Khan's biggest commercial successes came with Ghajini (2008), 3 Idiots (2009), Dhoom 3 (2013), PK (2014), and Dangal (2016), each having held the record for being the highest-grossing Indian film. Khan won his third Best Actor award at Filmfare for Dangal. He has a large following, especially in India and China, and has been described by Newsweek as "the most bankable movie star in the world". He has been regularly listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world. He also created and hosted the television talk show Satyamev Jayate. His work as a social reformer earned him an appearance on the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world in 2013.
Reader's Guide
Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan was born on 14 March 1965 in Bombay to Tahir Hussain, a film producer, and Zeenat Hussain from Varanasi. He is the second of four siblings; he has a younger brother—Faisal Khan—and two sisters, Farhat and Nikhat Khan. His family has roots from Herat in Afghanistan; Khan's paternal grandfather was a schoolteacher from a Pashtun zamindar background, while his paternal grandmother was an Arab tracing her roots to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and a niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Khan has expressed his wish to make a movie about Maulana Azad. Najma Heptulla, the 16th Governor of Manipur and the grand-niece of Maulana Azad, is Khan's cousin. Several of his relatives were members of the Hindi film industry, including his late paternal uncle, producer-director Nasir Hussain. Nasir's son Mansoor Khan is a director who has cast Aamir in most of his movies while Nasir's grandson through his daughter, Imran Khan, is a former Hindi film actor. Through his mother, Khan is a nephew of the Fazli brothers, who have been filmmakers in both India and Pakistan. As a child actor, he appeared on screen in two minor roles. At the age of eight, he appeared in Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), which was the first masala film in Bollywood. The following year, he portrayed the younger version of Mahendra Sandhu's character in Madhosh. Khan attended J.B. Petit School for his pre-primary education, later switching to St. Anne's High School, Bandra, until the eighth grade, and completed his ninth and tenth grades at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. He played tennis in state level championships and became a state-level champion. He professed he was "much more into sports than studies". He completed his twelfth grade at Mumbai's Narsee Monjee College, and described his childhood as "tough" due to the financial problems his father had, as his film productions were mostly unsuccessful. He said, "There would be at least 30 calls a day from creditors calling for their money," and that he was always at risk of being expelled from school for non-payment of fees. At the age of sixteen, Khan got involved in the experimental process of making a 40-minute silent film, Paranoia, which was directed by his school friend Aditya Bhattacharya. The film was funded by filmmaker Shriram Lagoo, an acquaintance of Bhattacharya, who provided them with a few thousand rupees. His parents did not wa
Did You Know?
- Aamir Khan won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Raja Hindustani (1996).
- His production company's first film, Lagaan (2001), was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
- He made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par (2007), winning Filmfare Awards for Best Film and Best Director.
- Khan was listed in the Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Aamir Hussain Khan (born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, director, producer and activist." — Aamir Khan "Certainly we were disappointed. But the thing that really kept us in our spirits was that the entire country was behind us." — Aamir Khan "Statement, when asked that why he don't attend any awards of Indian Cinema, 27 February 2008.[3]." — Aamir Khan "It's not important to me... people will see my films if they want to. Also, I cannot deal with so many things, I have bandwidth only for that much." — Aamir Khan
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