Laal Singh Chaddha actor Aamir Khan: ‘South filmmakers are very connected to audiences’

Many Bollywood movies in the last couple of years have failed to excite audiences in the Hindi heartland. And south Indian movies are filling that entertainment void as films like Pushpa: The Rise, KGF 2 and RRR have captured the imagination of the mass audience in north India.

“We as creative people have started selecting subjects perhaps which are more and more niche. Every filmmaker has a right to choose the film he wants to make, no questions asked. But, then I also should be aware that if I’m choosing a niche subject. I must be aware of that. I must not imagine that I’m making a mainstream film but I have actually selected a subject that most of the masses may not relate to it,” Aamir Khan added.

Aamir also believes that as long as the narrative of a film strikes a chord with the audience, the genre of the said film is immaterial.

A still picture from Laal Singh Chaddha.

“I think the audience is happy to watch any kind of film. Irrespective of genre, there has to be an emotional connection. As an audience, I would not be interested if only the action is happening. Look at Ghajini, it’s an action film. But, why is action happening? It’s a beautiful love story between Sanjay and Kalpana. And when Kalpana gets killed then the action happens. I want to see that. As an audience, I’m upset that Kalpanai got killed. Ghajini is essentially a love story but action is the second layer to that. Kalpana is the heart of Ghajini. South filmmakers are very connected to the audiences. Perhaps, we have lost that connection. We have to re-look that. And south films are teaching us,” the actor said.

2008 movie Ghajini was the remake of the Tamil blockbuster of the same name. It became the first Hindi film to earn Rs 100 crore domestically.

Aamir Khan is confident that his latest movie Laal Singh Chaddha will appeal to a larger section of the audience across the country. He’s releasing the movie in Telugu and Tamil, besides Hindi. The film is due in cinemas on August 11.