Speaking at a panel discussion at the ongoing Jio MAMI Film Festival in Mumbai, actor Aamir Khan said that his family had discouraged him from joining films, dubbing it a “volatile” and “unstable” profession. He said, “At that time almost everyone felt, film industry was not a good place to be. My own family, Nasir sahab (uncle Nasir Hussain) and papa jaan (father Tahir Hussain) were telling me, ‘No. Don’t go in films’. Both filmmakers were telling me not to go in films. Chacha jaan (Nasir), abba and ammi felt it was such a volatile profession.”
As with many celebrities in Kollywood, Aamir’s family also wanted him to choose a more orthodox career path, like engineering or medicine. “One minute you are up there, one minute you are not. There is no certainty or security. They wanted us to be more stable in life, to go into a profession which is more stable. Engineer, doctor, charted accountant,” Aamir Khan said.
Undeterred, Aamir secretly enrolled for a course at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Despite his relationship with two popular filmmakers of the time, Aamir did not want to capitalise on their fame to propel his own career. “I was very conscious of one thing. I never wanted Nasir sahab aur abba jaan to ever feel that ‘Now it is our responsibility to launch Aamir’. I didn’t want them to ever feel that, or be a burden on them. So, I knew by the time I wanted to act. I was doing my own thing, I used to go to FTII, do diploma films over there.
“But I never ever even by mistake used to mention to chacha jaan or to abba jaan about me wanting to act. I didn’t want to come close to it.”
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At the age of 16, after completing 10th standard, he shot for a short experimental film called Paranoia, directed by his classmate Aditya Bhattacharya (director, Raakh). Aamir said veteran actress Shabana Azmi had watched the movie and loved his acting. “Nobody in my house knew I had gone to shoot the film. I used to pretend that I was going for hockey match, but used to go for shooting.
“Shabana ji saw the film and asked about me. At that time, she was working with my father in a film titled Khoon Ki Pukaar. She said, ‘Oh you’re Tahir sahab‘s son! I must tell him you’re a fantastic actor!’ I said, ‘No! You can’t tell him that!’ She said, ‘You are a fantastic actor, you should be acting’. I felt so good,” Aamir said.