When Aamir Went to SRK for Advice on How to Interact With Big B

How Aamir & Big B went out for a movie together & more.

Aamir Khan shares some anecdotes on Amitabh Bachchan and his equation.

(Photo: Yogen Shah)

Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan will be seen together for the first time in Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Thugs of Hindostan, so when we met Aamir at a group interview and asked him about how it was working with Big B, he said he was super excited to work with him but at the same time he was nervous because he didn’t know if he would be able to match up to the superstar. But after the first shot he got comfortable with him.

Talking about Bachchan’s sense of humour he says, “He has a very dry sense of humour. So you don’t know whether he is joking or he is serious. He says something and then you think should I laugh or not laugh. But if I laugh and it turns out to be something that was not supposed to be a laughed at, then it will be a problem. So it takes time to understand if he is serious or joking.”

The story just got more interesting when he decided to ask his friend Shah Rukh Khan for a suggestion as to how to smoke in front of the megastar. He recalls, “So I went to meet Shah Rukh, we were shooting in the same studio and I said, "Shah, do you smoke in front of Amit ji? I mean I'm a smoker, so tell me how it works. Are you allowed to smoke in front of him?" He said, "Ya, ya no problem, you can smoke, I smoke in front of him." So I said, "Have you ever asked him?” He said, "No, I have not asked him but he never stopped me so..." I said, "I am feeling nervous, if I smoke first time in front of him and he looks at me then I'll not know what to do."

First, you start smoking at a distance then every day keep coming a little closer to him. So smoothly you get into it.

Shah Rukh Khan’s suggestion to Aamir Khan on smoking in front of Big B

Things get funnier and awkward when Amitabh Bachchan gets to know about this conversation and confronts Aamir. Aamir points out that when Shah Rukh and him were having this conversation, Avinash Gowariker (still photographer) was also there.

Aamir goes ahead with the story, “So one day when we were shooting in Malta, after shooting, I went to Amit ji's room and said, "Sir, what should we do?" Then I said, "Sir, let's go for a movie." He looked at me. He asked me which one. So I told him we will go to the theatre and see which one is running. He said, "We have to call for a car." We have sent the cars back as we have packed up. So I told him it's close by, we can go walking. Again he looked at me. Then he said, "We have to call for security." I was like, "I am there no, I am the security." So very sportingly he agreed and said, "Okay, let's go." Fatima, Amit ji and I walked to the theatre, it was just ten minutes away. While we were going there, he asked me,

“Aamir I heard you met Shah Rukh, and that you were asking Shah Rukh if you can smoke in front of me?” I was like, “Sir, who told you this?” He said he met Avinash and he told him. He was most amused. So I said, “So sir what’s your answer?” So he said, “No, no you can smoke in front of me but it’s not good for your health.” So I asked, “Sir, did you smoke?” He said, “Yes, I used to.”

Aamir’s smirk said it all.

Aamir also shares another interesting memory of Mr. Bachchan. Aamir says, “I have a very bizarre memory of Mr. Bachchan. So when we were kids, I come from a filmmaking family. Some magazine had come in which they had put a double spread, in which there were passport size photos of a lot of people who wanted to act. Newcomers who wanted to act, a lot of pics of them. So me and my siblings, were laughing looking at those pictures. "Haha, look at him, he wants to be an actor." We were very young that time. One of those pictures was of Mr. Bachchan. I told him about this incident. He was most amused. I remember this incident because we particularly laughed at him. Soon enough he became a star and we were huge fans of his. I used to remind my sisters, "You remember we used to laugh."