I was happy letting Aamir do the talking: Imran Khan

Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) Imran Khan, touted as the new chocolate boy of Bollywood, says comparisons with uncle Aamir Khan are inevitable. In fact, he is happy to let his illustrious ‘maamu’ do all the talking for his debut film “Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na”. “I’m not shy but I take time to get comfortable with people…I was happy letting Aamir maamu do all the speaking. I also knew people would start making comparisons between us regardless of whether we were seen together or not. When the comparisons are inevitable, what’s the point worrying about it? I really appreciate Aamir’s support though,” Imran told IANS in an interview.

So how much does Imran depend on Aamir for advice?

“On a personal level we’re extremely close. Yes he’s my uncle and I’m proud of that. But we don’t discuss each other’s work besides ‘Jaane Tu…’. Our family has always separated the personal from the professional. He’s always been a great believer in letting every one he loves find his own path. He always tells me to make my decisions about which films to do,” he said.

So why wasn’t he talking much before the film’s release?

“I wanted the film to speak for me before I did. Now that people know what’s in store in “Jaane Tu…”, I feel more relaxed talking about the film. Though I’m still uncomfortable talking about myself.”

Like Aamir, Imran wanted to be a director to begin with.

“Yes, that’s why I can look at my film objectively. I was 22 and immature when I wanted to be a director. Now I feel I’m not ready for direction yet. Thank god ‘Jaane Tu…” came into my life.”

And again like Aamir, Imran too believes commercial films can be intelligent.

“Where and how did we decide intelligent films can’t be commercial? I believe at the end of the day we’ve to sell tickets in theatres. And for that we need to make audiences feel good about a film. Given those parameters it’s our duty to do something innovative.”

Imran already has two other films – “Kidnap” and Luck” – on the floors.

“Shibani Bhatija who wrote Karan Johar‘s ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ wrote ‘Kidnap’. It’s an exceptional script. My character was so interesting … and a challenge for me because it’s completely different from ‘Jaane Tu…”. It required me to stretch myself as an actor. It took me very far away from my comfort zone.

“Then there’s ‘Luck’ which takes me to another zone. Though I can identify with the character, it’s a very demanding film physically. I’ll come out of ‘Luck’ with a lot of bruises,” Imran laughed.

Imran never hid his relationship with girlfriend Avantika Malik and says he’s only happy being seen with her in public. “I feel whoever you are in a relationship with needs to feel like an important part of your life. The soul mate is a very important support system. I’m glad to have her by my side,” he said.

The actor also denied the notion that having a girlfriend would affect an actor’s career. “People wrongly feel if a male actor is attached his career suffers. Shah Rukh (Khan), Aamir mamu, Hrithik (Roshan) …all came into the industry attached. Finally it’s only your work that the audience looks at,” Imran quipped.

The actor has already won audiences hearts with his first film, but he has his head firmly on his shoulders.

“I wonder if I can live up to all the expectations! I’ve seen ‘Jaane Tu…’ dozens of times. I’ve done whatever I could do. More than my happiness my director Abbas Tyrewala, Mansoor Khan and Aamir mamu are happy. But I can see only the glaring flaws. But Aamir and Abbas are happy. So I’m going by their judgement.”

Imran is also against the much talked about competition between him and debutante Harman Baweja, specially since their films released on the same day. He said: “Filmmaking is not a marathon race where only one person wins. For one film to be a success it isn’t necessary for the other to fail. It’s all about whether the films are liked by the audience or not. And who says only one film can do well?”

— By Subhash K. Jha