The week before he turned 61 belonged to Aamir Khan. Sporting a moustache that stood up at both ends, he came suited-booted and stayed for quite a while at the star-studded pre-wedding party thrown by Komal Nahta for his son Mohak.
Aamir and Nahta have such a close bond that in 2022, months before its release, the trade analyst had watched Laal Singh Chaddha and told his friend that the film wouldn’t work. At that time, when Aamir was high on the film and those around him were also chuffing him up, such moments could have caused friction in the friendship. But ultimately, they also strengthen the bond.
Aamir has a few strong friendships that last forever. A well-known one is his rapport with Sachin Tendulkar. Aamir was a part of the rich-and-the-famous rollcall at Sachin’s son Arjun’s recent wedding in Mumbai. But his first encounter was not with Sachin the celebrity cricketer; it was not a friendship that sprang between two pint-sized successful men from two different fields. Aamir had first spotted an enthusiastic 15-year-old at the nets with Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and the other greats of the 80s at the Cricket Club of India where he was shooting for Dev Anand’s cricket-based film Awwal Number (1990).
“I’d wondered, who’s this little kid bowling to and batting with the giants,” Aamir recalled. Senior cricketers had told Aamir that this kid was a rare one; they were watching him as a future player in the national team. Awwal Number itself got bowled out and did nothing for the fresh new star of QSQT (1988) who didn’t get a chance to play an impressive innings in it. But CCI was where Aamir got his first introduction to a cricketer with whom he celebrates a lifelong mutual admiration. Apart from the innumerable star arrivals at the Nahta reception that included Salman Khan who briefly left his dad’s bedside at the ICU, Rajkumar Hirani joined Aamir’s table for a short while. “I don’t know what happens to me when I’m writing,” remarked Raju, explaining how he was eternally short on time. “I’m right now writing for him,” he said, pointing to Aamir.
“Yes, Raju’s writing 3 Idiots 2,” confirmed Aamir two days later, when he hosted the trailer launch of his new film Ek Din, which brings together his son Junaid and Sai Pallavi, the multilingual actress from the south. The Aamir-Raju reunion was supposed to have happened over a cinematic retelling of Dadasaheb Phalke’s life. “But before the script could peak, Raju got excited with an idea for 3 Idiots 2 and he started working on it,” explained Aamir. 3 Idiots 2 won’t be based on a book unlike the 2009 original that had taken off from Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone. That association between author and filmmaker hadn’t ended too well but the blockbuster had made Sonam Wangchuk famous.
Aamir sipped only green tea at Nahta’s party, explaining that after suffering intense migraines with increasing frequency, he was finding relief with the AMURA diet. It is a Chennai-based group that draws up personalised anti-inflammatory diet plans and is responsible for the recent radiance in Vidya Balan. Aamir too has lost more than 20 kilos in three months. But the smoker in him who couldn’t completely kick the butt now has a substitute — he smokes a pipe.
PS: Why were Ranveer Singh, Yami Gautam and Aditya Dhar, who individually and collectively have a comfortable friendship of years with Nahta, missing at the celebration? A Jio source whispers that a dhurandhar decision was taken at the highest level for the entire team to lie low and let the film reach the theatres without controversy. Unlike the atmosphere in December when the trailer had a grand launch and Ranveer, Aditya and the entire team had mingled with the public without restraint, the product will do all the talking this time around. A wise call.
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and an author
