Aamir Khan takes a ride in Kaziranga National Park on Friday. Picture by UB Photos

Jorhat, Nov. 8: Thousands of tourists from across the world and the rest of the country throng Kaziranga National Park every year to feast their eyes on its superstar — the one-horned rhino.

Today, hundreds of residents from nearby areas — and a few from Guwahati, 250km away — gathered at the park to see another superstar in flesh and blood and from up close — Aamir Khan.

So what happened when the two “superstars” came face-to-face at the world heritage site?

Deep Bora, the driver of the forest department Gypsy that carried Khan, his wife Kiran Rao and their son Azad Rao Khan inside the park, said: “They were spellbound. Not only with the rhinos, but everything else, the tall elephant grass, the migratory birds of varied hues, the swamp deer and the wild boars captivated them. We stopped at several locations as they took pictures.”

Bora, a regular in the park in his line of duty, was himself no less charmed by the superstar. “I asked him about Dhoom 3 and he told me it took about two years to complete the film which is scheduled to be released on December 28,” he said.

At Kohora, excited girl students from a nearby college burst into Pardesi, pardesi, jana nahin (from Aamir’s film Raja Hindustani), and chants of Aal izz well (of 3 Idiots fame) filled the air, as people waited for the Khan entourage to return from their safari.

The 10-vehicle convoy carrying Aamir, his family and their friends, including Karan Johar, entered the national park through the Bagori range around 10am and exited from the Kohora range after about two hours. “We opened a special route, which is about 15km inside the park, covering both the ranges so the actor could take in as much of Kaziranga as possible,” a park official said. Later talking to reporters, Aamir was all praise for the conservation efforts at the park, saying it was “important for all of us”.

Clad in a T-shirt and baggy pants and donning a hat, the actor said he was moved by the hospitality showered on him by the people.

“I am pleased with the warm welcome and hospitality shown by the people of Assam.”

Asked if a project on Kaziranga was on the way, he said, “No such idea has struck me yet.” But he assured Assam forest minister Rakibul Hussain that he will consider such a project. Hussain had come over to greet Aamir and presented him with a seleng sador, japi and a muga jacket on behalf of chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

The actor and his entourage had arrived in Assam a couple of days back to celebrate his wife Kiran Rao’s birthday. It was a special occasion as she turned 40 yesterday.

The team has been putting up at Wild Mahseer, a resort at Balijan near Tezpur, from where they came to Kaziranga this morning.

“I wanted to give a surprise to my wife and since I always wanted to visit Assam, here I am. This is totally a personal trip,” Aamir said. The team had lunch at a tea estate close to the park before returning to Tezpur.