‘What is fascinating about Aamir sir is that the audience in him is still alive and throbbing.’
‘He still cries. He still laughs.’
IMAGE: Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par.
Eighteen years after his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan returns with its ‘spiritual sequel’ called Sitaare Zameen Par.
This time, he deals with yet another less-known medical condition — neurodivergence.
But Aamir doesn’t direct this time.
This time, R S Prasanna, who directed the Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Saadham and its Hindi remake Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, takes over the directorial reins.
“When this story was offered to me, it was so exciting,” Prasanna tells Rediff‘s Patcy N. “I saw a quintessential Aamir Khan film.”
Taare Zameen Par was a huge hit and widely appreciated. Does that put pressure on you?
Every movie puts pressure on a filmmaker, pressure of telling a story from the heart.
When I’m writing dialogues or a scene, I am always scared. What if I am the only person who finds this interesting?
Does my wife find it interesting too?
Are my kids okay with it?
Pressure is the long-term friend of every filmmaker.
When there is a legacy like Taare Zameen Par, there are certainly butterflies in the stomach.
But I had the legacy himself next to me, Aamir Khan, and he makes his directors very comfortable.
I am a huge fan of Taare Zameen Par.
I remember he came down to Chennai to receive the Best Debut Director Award. He rarely accepts awards, right?
That was the Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial Award and K Balachander gave it to him.
There was a huge crowd in the auditorium and I couldn’t get an entry.
I was part of the crowd outside the auditorium.
When Aamir sir come out to interact with fans, he was so humble.
Recently, I told Aamir sir I was that kid who saw you from a distance, thank you for letting me into your world.
IMAGE: Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par.
How did you approach Aamir for Sitaare Zameen Par?
I had a 10-year plan, that hopefully, in my seventh or eighth film, I’ll muster up the courage to pitch something to Aamir sir.
Who doesn’t want to work with him?
When this story was offered to me, it was so exciting.
I saw a quintessential Aamir Khan film.
Only he has the ability to play this role.
I felt he would also be the best producer to help and guide me.
Sitaare looks like Lagaan and Chak De! India where a group of underdogs rise and win via a sport. Such movies have worked in the past.
Did Aamir choose this genre because it was a sure shot win after his last debacle, Laal Singh Chaddha?
Aamir sir follows his heart.
I have asked him how he chooses his films. He has the same answer: He follows his heart.
What is fascinating about Aamir sir is that the audience in him is still alive and throbbing.
He still cries. He still laughs.
For most people, it’s very difficult to keep their knowledge of the craft aside while watching a movie.
Aamir sir still has the ability to be an audience while watching a movie.
IMAGE: Genelia Deshmukh and Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par.
Sitaare is a remake of the Spanish film Champions, which was inspired from true events. Did you watch the movie to understand it better?
My first movie in Hindi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, is an adaptation of my own film, Kalyan Samyal Saavdhan.
It’s very important to know why we are adapting something.
If there is an opportunity to tell a story, one needs to be excited by that story.
I wanted my father, mother and my family to see this film, but they will not, unless I Indianise it.
It’s a universal story.
I wanted people to enjoy this in an Indian context.
Apart from that, which other movie would give us an opportunity to work with 80 to 90 percent neurodivergent actors?
How could I let go of this opportunity?
I couldn’t.
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IMAGE: Aamir Khan with his Sitaare on the Sitaare Zameen Par poster.
How difficult was it to work with actors with special needs? Is it true you auditioned 2,500 actors?
We had a lovely casting process for over 10 months.
Aamir sir and I were helped by casting directors, Tess Joseph and Anmol Ahuja.
We put a process in place where we reached out to organisations and asked for entries because we were looking at people with enthusiasm and a desire to act.
We were not looking at professional actors.
Some of them have done movies, like Gopi Krishna Varma, but we were looking at real people who love to act.
I always wanted to be an actor when I was a kid. Then I realised there is something called direction and writing.
When I made short films in college with a mini camera, my actors were amateurs. They were my friends, my family.
I am not averse to working with new talent.
What was it like shooting with them?
They shocked us with their stamina.
After lunch, we would have a dance party to get our energies up.
What I really admire is that they just don’t give up.
They are perfectionists, just like Aamir Khan.
We would get our day’s work done on time, we didn’t lose any time because of them.
An inclusive work environment is beautiful because there is an increase in productivity. You’re working without egos and there’s a lot of empathy and kindness.
IMAGE: Director R S Prasanna with Aamir Khan on the sets of Sitaare Zameen Par. Photograph: Kind courtesy RS Prasanna/Instagram
What made you think about making a film on neurodivergence?
When we were expecting our first child, we had to do a (Down’s Syndrome) test for the baby to check the parameters.
I did not know much about neurodivergence, and that made me question a lot of things.
One night, I remember asking my wife Meena if I was wrong in praying for a healthy child. Was I wrong in praying that my child ought to be this way and not that?
We were having this conversation and then I think the night ended with us saying that whatever God chooses to send, that would be our child.
A lot of people and counsellors educated us.
We researched online.
There are so many of these Sitaare who are achievers in life.
When the discussion about this film happened, this thought was in my mind.
When Aamir sir asked me, why would you want to do this film?
I told him that what if a guy like Gulshan (played by Aamir) is not aware of these things? Who will teach him?
Suddenly, it all came together.
I talked to Samvit Desai’s (who plays one of the Sitaare) parents, and they told me so many stories about how they felt.
There are good resources nowadays and so much more awareness.
Taare Zameen Par had a huge impact on the special needs community, so they were very excited when we went to them with this movie.
IMAGE: Prasanna with Aamir Khan. Photograph: Kind courtesy RS Prasanna/Instagram
How was it working with Aamir Khan? Did he give ideas and tell you what to do or not do, or did he give you a free hand?
I have been asked this in every interview. I shared this with Aamir sir two days ago and we had a laugh over it.
Aamir sir is an absolute delight to work with.
He respects every single department, be it the director, the assistant directors or the costume department.
He empowers filmmaking in all the departments.
He will not overstep or to tell you to do this and that.
He empowers young people.
Remember, he worked with me, who has not done any big film before Shubh Mangal Saavdaan.
He constantly takes chances on directors who may not have done big films before.
He is very addictive. He spoils his directors.
How did you get into the movies?
I come from a middle class family in Chennai, which had nothing to do with movies.
Let me correct myself. We have everything to do with movies because we are the audience.
My father is a huge film buff.
One of the films he took me to was Kamal Haasan’s Guna. It’s a classic. He is a neurodivergent protagonist.
I remember watching Koshish, Jaya Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar’s classic, where we had special needs people.
Then, there was Kamal Haasan’s Sadma.
I come from a family who was hugely supportive of my filmmaking aspirations.
My father was very clear that whatever you do, just get your engineering degree, so you will have a job.
My lovely wife and two children keep me grounded and also keep my passion for cinema alive.
