Less than a week after its release, PK, the movie, has a competitor in PK, the hashtag. Even as the war on Twitter shows no signs of abating, Aamir Khan takes questions on playing an alien, being a socially responsible superstar and more.

Aamir Khan's films have a special place among children . Azad (his three-year-old son) is said to have loved PK and even copied his dance moves. Asked if it has been the best compliment yet, the superstar said: "Azad loves film music. When he was about one-year-old, he went crazy over Ayan (Mukerji)'s film, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. Every morning he would want to dance to the film's songs and I had to dance with him. Some days Kiran (Aamir's wife) would join in. While I was doing Dhoom 3, Azad would watch me practising tap dance and he would do the same. I am happy he loved this one too."

Certainly, movies run in the family. We ask him if rumours of his daughter wanting to get into films are true. Aamir says he would be happy if she does so, but he doesn't know if that's the case now. Instead, he talks about the staggering mental preparations he needed to play the role of PK, the alien . "The challenge was to really clear my head off everything that I know about human beings, everything I approached I had to just try and grasp as if I have never had any previous knowledge about this planet. To get to the mind space where I don't understand how this planet works was the big challenge. Trying to grapple with what PK is coming across. Raju's script is very funny. Language was yet another big challenge."

DONE IT ALL 

From a man without memory to a man from outside the planet, Aamir has done it all. Now with biopics having become the flavour of the season, would he want to be part of one too? Believe it or balk, there are some fans of Narendra Modi on Twitter who think this socially conscientious Bollywood perfectionist would be in fact perfect to essay the role of our current prime minister! Aamir doesn't junk the idea of playing Narendra Modi altogether, but puts the onus on the scriptwriter. "It really depends on whether such a film is offered to me. I don't like to plan ahead. That is not an organic way of doing things. A film is born after a writer finishes the script, I would only come in when the film is ready to be made. I really don't want to plan what I would like to do," he said.

Yet this man without a plan is the brain behind the TV show Satyamev Jayate that tells billion-plus Indians what not to do. So how does it work with his films? Does he consciously pick films that have some sort of a social message? "No, I do not consciously do that. But I do get attracted to stuff based on what kind of person I am. Other actors might not have gotten attracted to Taare Zameen Par the way I did. It was not really a mainstream film. But it worked for me. Some films appeal to me when they match my thoughts. Otherwise, I don't go out looking for films with social messages," said Aamir. "It is the writer and director who want to say something and I join them. My primary concern is: am I entertaining? If there is a social message then well and good. Some of the films that I did like Ghajini, Delhi Belly, Dhoom 3 didn't have any social message." Returning to PK, Aamir talks about the critical and commercial reception of his latest. He seems chirpy. But the ticket pricing of the film has been a bit of a concern. Commenting on the scenario, Aamir explained: "Ticket pricing is not the reason why the film has not released in certain single screen theatres. I don't want to name any theatre but some of them want to earn more money by indulging in black marketing. They claim to sell it at a lower price, open the ticket window for about 10 minutes and then put up the houseful board. They later sell tickets at much higher price through touts. That's a practice we don't want to support.

SINGLE SCREEN

"Our film has released in a lot of single screen theatres across the country. For instance, there is this theatre in Bandra called Nandi which is selling tickets for Rs60. So our film is running there. So we don't really have any issues with lower price. Our purpose is to reach each and every person in this country. In fact, I think the prices should be lesser than that also. Since the last six years, I have been telling the exhibitors that there should be a provision for some people to watch movies for as low as Rs25. In any case, distribution and exhibition is not in my hands but as a creative person, I feel the need to reach out to everyone in this country." But isn't this the ongoing trend? Even multiplexes hike rates when a superstar's film releases. In Delhi on Friday the PVR chain had ticket cost as high as Rs1,600! Aamir didn't agree. "You are talking about the Director's Cut segment, which has always been high. But even in multiplexes, you can get a ticket for Rs120. It all depends on when you want to watch a film. Weekdays, morning shows etc. it is quite affordable. Why is this question about high ticket price not asked to every one? The last five films that released before this had the same kind of ticket pricing. Why are only we singled out to ask such questions?" Aamir asked. The tone gets serious. "This controversy is created to spread negativity . It is being deliberately done. All the big films released before this, we all fall under the same industry conventions. So why not ask them too?" Some religious groups have raised objection saying the film is promoting "Love Jehad". Even on Twitter, there is a virtual war over PK's message. Aamir is unmoved . "For every film there will be a group that will protest. This is a democracy and if they have an opinion, so be it. They should not watch the film if they don't like it," he said. So does making films with social messages mean that it will take a toll on the box office collections? One expects high opening figures from all his films, but this was not as big as Dhoom 3. Aamir differs. "We collected Rs26 crores on the first day and that's a very high figure. It's actually higher than Dhoom 3. Some films came out on holidays and this came out on a regular Friday. On Sunday it was Rs38.4 crores, which is again higher than Dhoom 3." On his reluctance to market PK, we ask him if this is a method to create more intrigue surrounding the film star.

Marketing:

Aamir brushes off the charge. "I think each film is unique and has its own requirement in terms of marketing. If I tell you in Dhoom 3 I am playing a double role, it would have been a big spoiler. I try to pretty much protect the entertainment value of the film by not revealing certain key points. I think quality is more important than quantity . It is not about more or less, it is about how appropriate it is. Your first day draw reflects the kind of marketing you have done. Anyway, the initial collection of PK is higher than Kick . I don't know how we could do better than that." So how does he unwind when the job's done? "I have seen an unreleased film. It's called Margarita with a straw. Beautiful film and I think the Hindi version is Chhoone Chali Aasmaan. I really loved it. I loved watching Queen too," he said.

Журнал Global Movie, январь 2015 г.