For the promotion of PK, Aamir Khan was part of a very unique video conference with journalists and writers from the UK, the US and Australia. With very thoughtful and intriguing answers, the actor spoke about the Rajukumar Hirani directed film. Well, as much as he could because as he said they want to keep some things under wraps so the audience will get the full PK experience when they see it on the big screen on December 19th. We earlier gave you an inside look into what he had to say to the UK press. We were lucky enough to also be granted access to the video from the US session and the one in Australia. Check out some highlights of what the esteemed actor had to say about all things PK and more in the fascinating video chats.
So how does the actor pick roles? “I don’t pick roles I pick films. The way I pick films is when I am reading the script I am like the audience and I am experiencing the film for the first time. If the script excites me, engages me, moves me, touches me, then I want to do it. It is a very instinctive response to the material I am reading.”
“I actually like to hear the narration. My first choice is to hear the director reading the script out to me. When I am listening to it, the film is unfolding in my head. As an audience if I react to it and I love it, then I want to do it. I go with my instinct and what makes me happy and that is how I pick my films,” he added.
He said that happened with PK, he loved the script and after hearing the narration he did not hesitate to say yes.
Aamir could not reveal much about his character, but talking to a journalist from the US, the actor said, “He is a very unusual character… PK. He is a character that is very innocent. He is a little strange looking and a little weird. He is a bit Chaplin-esque. I don’t know if Raju and Abhijat intended that but when I read the script I did find him a bit Chaplin-esque.”
Aamir would not reveal why he is called PK only saying, “There is a particular reason but I want you all to discover that when you see the film.”
Here’s something, it was actually Aamir that suggested that the character speak Bhojpuri instead of Hindustani, “It was actually an accident but it worked. It brings a certain color to the character and adds to his quirkiness that he speaks another dialect.”
He also laughing mentioned that for the look of the character they did make his ears pop out more. “My ears are on the bigger size and they do pop out, he said with a smile, “But we kind of exaggerated it and really made the ears pop out.”
And his clothes… well the costume department actually got clothes from people from all over apparently. According to Aamir, if they saw something they thought would work they would ask the people to have them and then give them something in the return. Yes, all the clothes he wears are actually picked off people. Why that is, of course, he says we will find out in the movie!
We earlier learned that he does not blink, so how did he accomplish that? “Initially it was tougher, especially since I was wearing lenses. The way I kind of tackled that was I would mentally really concentrate on the object or the person in front of me and really drink it in. So if my head is really curious about that thing, then I don’t blink. So that was what I used and that really helped me a lot.”
He had nothing but praise about working with Sanjay Dutt, “This is the first time I have worked with him. I really enjoyed working with Sanju. He is such a warm person. He is like a big warm bear. He is very protective and extremely loving and I felt very secure when he was around. He is an extremely instinctive actor. During the shot he is totally there. His total focus is on the shot. I really enjoyed working with him. He is a lovely guy.”
The message of the film… well, we will find out on the 19th, but he did say, “The character and Raju do have something very, very important to say. There is a fundamental thing he is saying to us through the film about how we are as a people.”
He also revealed to an Australian journalist what makes him feel pressure on the set, “What pressures me is will I get the scene right? Will I hit the right note? Will I be in the moment? That is a very nebulous thing, you know? My effort is always to be in the moment and to be kind of in a state of semi-consciousness. I am conscious enough to know the instructions of the DOP and the director but I should be lost enough in the moment so that I feel that it is actually happening to me.”
The actor was asked about the title, Mr. Perfectionist and he replied, “I don’t think the media, especially here in Bombay, knew how to slot me so they gave me this title. I don’t think I am a perfectionist. I don’t think any one is perfect. In fact, I think a lot of the time our beauty lies in our imperfections.”
Adding, “I am certainly someone who enjoys my work. I love doing what I do. There is a drive in me to do as best as I can and I don’t give up. At the end of the day I am not perfect so I try and hopefully I will continue to try.”
The actor has been in Hindi films since 1984 and next year will be 50 years old, so what is it about acting and films that makes him want to continue on, he was asked. Replying smilingly he said, “The excitement I feel and the joy I feel in touching people’s hearts, that is what I enjoy doing. I enjoy being part of stories. I enjoy making people cry, laugh, hopefully inspiring them, and move then in different ways. That is what I love doing.”
“I don’t really think ahead,” he said, “I really live in the present. I don’t really plan ahead of things I want to do. Things happen organically with me. It is difficult to say what lies ahead for me. Right now it is the 19th of December with PK.”
As for what’s next? “I have yet to sign anything. I have been reading scripts but I haven’t fixed on what I am doing next yet.”
Be sure to also check out our interview with Anushka Sharma and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
