Aamir’s Words Overwhelm Vashu Bhagnani

Aamir Khan’s fan club has just got itself another member. At the meeting of the United Producers & Distributors Association(UPDA) Vashu Bhagnani’s hands and feet went cold with nervousness and pleasure when Aamir Khan walked up to him and assured the worried producer that his son’s debut film Kal Kisne Dekha will get a royal release in single theatres even if the multiplex theatres remain unavailable.

Says the still-stunned Vashu, “It was not just the reassurance that Aamir gave me. It was his words. Aamir said, ‘Vashuji, we’ll make sure that the mutiplex audiences will head towards single theatres to see your son’s film. I will personally clean the w.c if we have to. But don’t worry, your film will get the proper release.’ I was so stunned by his words, so moved, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even say thankyou. It seemed like such a small and frivolous gesture to repay him for his oberwhelming words.This was Aamir Khan, the super-actor and producer showing so much concern for my son’s film. Later Shah Rukh too came up to me and said, ‘We’re with you.Don’t worry.’ I completely forgot my worries about my film.I leave it to Aamir, Shah Rukh and the others.I’ll do whatever they decide.”

Vashu now looks at the multiplex crisis as a blessing in disguise. “For so long we’ve taken the single theatres for granted only because we feel the audiences in multiplexes matter more. Wrong! The real masses , people with hard-earned money who actually go to our films to have a good time, are still in the single-theatre groove. Until recently a place like Patna had no multiplex theatre. Some of my biggest hits have been at a time when there were no multiplexes.”

Vashu says it’s unlikely he can release his son’s debut film Kal Kisne Dekha on May 1, as per schedule. “But as soon as I get a green signal from Aamir and Shah Rukh I’ll release the film in single theatres.”

By Subhash K Jha