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Aamir Khan：Cultural Difference IsNo Barrier To Co-productions

Editor: Diao JiayiEditor: Diao Jiayi★★Designer: Tian HuDesigner: Tian Hu★★

Copy Editor: S. DerrickCopy Editor: S. Derrick★★人物PEOPLE

When the Indian film star Aamir

Khan came to China for the first time

with his film PK two years ago, he was

fat because of a new film. He said he

would come back to China again after

the release of the film. Aamir Khan

made his promise with his latest film

Dangal to the 7th Beijing International

Film Festival （BJIFF）. Now, Aamir

Khan has returned strong and hand-

some. He said that he is still preparing

for a new film and his new role "will not

be a kind person."

Aamir Khan is definitely one of the

most popular actors during the Beijing

International Film Festival this year. Be-

ing an actor, screenwriter, music com-

poser, singer, director and producer, the

Bollywood film star is good at everything.

His name has become well known and

each of his film has become a box-office

blockbuster with commercial appeal.

Aamir Khan's spirit of professional-

ism is more respectable. For the film

Dangal, the 52-year-old film star gained

weight of 28 kilograms in a short time

and spent five months losing 25 kilo-

grams and gaining muscles. His extraor-

dinary perseverance was even admired

by Olympic champion Zou Shiming.

Aamir Khan said everything was so in-

credible that he could not imagine how

he had gone all the way through this.

Losing 25 Kilograms in Five MonthsDangal is Aamir Khan's latest mas-

terpiece. The film not only won the box-

office champion of Bollywood in 2016,

but also set a new box-office record in

India. The film is expected to be officially

released soon in China. Adapted from a

true story, the film tells the story of an In-

dian champion wrestler named Mahavir

Singh who had to give up wrestling and

hoped his son could help him fulfill his

dream of winning the world gold medal.

Unexpectedly, four daughters were

born. By accident, he began to teach his

daughters to wrestle, trying to make

them world-class wrestlers.

In order to shoot this inspiring

sports- themed film, Aamir Khan admit-

ted that the most difficult task was the

change of his stature. In order to shoot

the film, Aamir Khan gained weight from

69 kilograms to 97 kilograms；then he

trained in the gym for five months and

lost 25 kilograms. His fat rate decreased

from 37% to 9.8%. He also spent half a

year learning wrestling.

In fact, the change of his body can

be achieved by special effects, but

Aamir Khan insisted on gaining weight.

He said that the movement of the body

would also change when a person be-

came fat. He wanted to show a real ef-

fect of the movement of a fat person. "It

is very common for an actor to gain

weight or get extremely thin. You must

have a professional spirit." The process

of losing weight was a real nightmare.

Zou Shiming said what he has done in

and outside the screen is no less than

what real athletes do.

Aamir Khan said that he spent a long

time with Maravir, the prototype of the

story. Aamir respects the man. "It's brave

to train his daughters wrestlers in India,

as there's gender inequality in India. He

really has a strong mind." Khan said.

Filming Dangal is a process of get-

ting injured. Aamir Khan and the ac-

tresses who played his daughters in the

film all suffered a lot from back injuries

and bone fractures.

Films Should Inspire PeopleIn 2009, 3 Idiots starring Aamir

Khan became popular all over the

world, and won him numerous fans in

China. On April 14, Aamir Khan said hel-

lo on Weibo saying "I will come to China

with my new film Dangal！ " Soon, he

got 200,000 followers. In fact, Aamir

Khan grew up as a child star and he

acted in his first film when he was eight

years old.

Aamir Khan comes from theatrical

family. His father Tahir Hussain is a fa-

mous film producer, and his uncle Nasir

Hussain is an actor, director, and pro-

ducer, whose work Caravan was once

popular in China. Khan first appeared on

screen in his uncle's film Yaadon Ki

Baaraat at the age of 8. However, Aamir

Khan showed much more interest in

tennis than acting.

Aamir Khan suddenly became in-

terested in the film after he went to col-

lege. In 2002, Khan was named Zee

Cine Award（ZCA） for Best Actor with

his romantic drama Lagaan: Once Up-

on a Time in India. In 2008, he won the

Bollywood People's Choice Awards for

Best Director with his directorial film Ta-

are Zameen Par. Aamir Khan acted in

the inspirational comedy 3 Idiots in

2009 and played in the fantasy comedy

PK in 2014, the first Indian film that hit a

box office of 100 million dollars on a

global scale.

However, some of Aamir Khan's

films are not accepted by audiences,

such as PK which satirizes Indian reli-

gion. He doesn't care about pressure

from the society as he thinks different

opinions about a film may appear. Film-

makers should be open to accept all the

voices. "Films are not only used for en-

tertainment. Films should be contributive

to the society by uniting everyone into a

big family." Khan said.

Good Stories Have No BorderAamir Khan is glad to participate in

the 7th Beijing international Film Festi-

val. He opened his Weibo account for

his love of Chinese culture. He learned

to recite The Ballad of Mulan and pro-

posed suggestions for co- production

with China at the film forum.

At the debut of Dangal, Zou Shiming

was reminded of the story of Hua Mulan

taking her father's place in the army,

and then raised a question to Aamir

Khan and taught him to recite The Bal-

lad of Mulan in Chinese. Aamir Khan ex-

pressed his love to Chinese culture as

he thinks that Chinese stories are very

beautiful and he started learning The

Ballad of Mulan.

As a filmmaker creating a work

widely acclaimed in India and well- re-

ceived in the world, Aamir Khan has his

own opinion about co- production. "In

my opinion, with a good character and a

good story, the film can go across the

world. I only think about if I am excited

for the story. I don't know how the audi-

ences feel. But I do know what I am ex-

pecting for, and I will follow my heart,

which is the greatest power for me in

film making." Khan said.

Aamir Khan thought that cultures

should not hinder co- productions. He

said, "I'm excited to know the cultural di-

versity even if I know little about it. To

make a film telling the story of a coun-

try, filmmakers must know about the

country and its culture. We cannot be

too optimistic about co- productions

without a good story and working hard."

Khan said.

Aamir Khan said he was pleased to

learn about the cultural diversity be-

tween China and India. He hopes to

work with Chinese filmmakers on good

scripts. However, he refused some of-

fers at the moment. "I expect to learn

more about the shooting skills and nar-

rative patterns of Chinese films, as well

as the rest of the world. In this way, we

can come closer and share experience."

Khan said.