Aamir Khan can be quite a chupa rustom if he wants to be. No one had a clue he was working on a documentary about the parents of the specially abled children who participated in his highly acclaimed film Sitaare Zameen Par.
Directed by Shaanib Bakshi, the documentary from Aamir Khan Productions’ Sitaaron Ke Sitaare, which releases on December 19, introduces audiences to the parents of the young specially abled actors who featured in the sports comedy-drama.
Aamir calls them the real heroes. “Sure, the youngsters who are specially abled have to go through an unimaginable struggle for survival with dignity, all their lives. But have we thought of what parents of the specially abled children have to go through? I think they’re even bigger heroes than the specially abled kids. Their story had to be told.”
But would audiences be interested in watching a documentary on the bravehearts who bring up specially abled children, especially at a time when the Dhurandhar cyclone has hit movie theatres?
Laughs Aamir, “If you want me to do something, just tell me it can’t be done. And actually, every time everyone around me always told me don’t do it whenever I tried something different. Whether it was Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par or Sitaare Zameen Par, I was always advised not to do it. So, what I’ve realized now over time is that when a story interests me, it gets into my bloodstream. Then I can’t help but do that, that I have to do that. There’s nothing else that I can do. So, that’s what happened with this film also. And I felt that this deep impact that I’m feeling, this feeling that is there inside me, I want to share it with my audience. It came from the heart. And that’s why I did this documentary.”
