[1]Ek zamana tha when Bollywood alphabet went like this: A for Amitabh, B for Bachchan, C for Collective Aspirations of the Rest. That exclusivity is now gone.
Today, AB in capitals may still stand for Amitabh Bachchan, but that chotta, cute “a” now stands for Aamir Khan. Chotta “a” — it is different and it is special. And aap toh jante hi hain, Aamir Khanji is very special, and that is why woh sirf special appearances marte hain, like a saviour. Special appearance to save hamari pyaari Narmada, Anna Hazareji ji ki dwindling TRPs, ya phir, Sunday ke Sunday, to save us from ourselves. But these appearances toh fall in that “rarest of rare” category. Jaise ki apne saare staff and random boys on streets ki hajamat karna, Ghajni style, ya phir 3 Idiots ko promote karne ke liye suddenly jagah-jagah prakat hona.
But the fact is, jab-jab Aamirji prakat hote hain, tab-tab aam janta mein ek umeed ki leher jaagti hai, that maybe, Aamirji ab hamare saath hi rahenge. But jaise hi box-office reports aati hain, and Aamirji feels his place is safe and secure in the Rs 100 crore box-office gang, woh phir swarg laut jaate hain. This time too, to promote his soon-to-be-released Talaash, Aamirji has chosen a very special appearance. You see, Bharat desh is split between two types of people – people who live to watch CID (Sony) and people who start rolling on the floor laughing at a) mention of CID, or, b) any sighting of ACP Pradyuman, Abjijeet, Daya etc.
So, with just two episodes this week, Aamirji has caught the attention of one half of our world. And how.
Most stars come to reality shows in designer clothes and do ha ha-he he to promote their films. Not Aamirji. He of the Method School of Acting, chose to remain in character and costume. Like his Talaash, this two-part CID special was about a murder mystery and Senior Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan).
But because this is CID, it involved a serial killer who first does tukde-tukde of cops and then uses a mysterious missus to deliver the bodies in red suitcases to jeevit cops.
And even as ACP Pradyuman — who has the special power to conjure up the answers to any mystery simply by repeating a question to himself — was concentrating hard and muttering to self, “Aakhir kya, kya connection ho sakta hai, in laashon mein?”, dashing Senior Inspector Shekhawat maaroed his entry and immediately established his moral and dhishum-dhishum credentials. By Saturday evening he had solved the mystery, caught the killer and again made you feel that he cares, that the world is safe and that he’ll stay. But chotta “a” won’t stay. He’ll disappear, and will give darshan only when India or his film need saving, again.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/amirjpg-054