Aamir Ali On Coping With 2020

Television and  OTT  actor Aamir Ali  is  glad 2020 has ended. “It has been  a very very tough year for all of us. I’ve tried to remain  positive and just move ahead as  happily as I could.  The  most important thing was  to remain healthy and happy. If I am healthy and happy, so is everyone  around me. I tried to stay  physically and mentally fit. I am moving into 2021  without getting bogged down by external pressures. I don’t want to be pulled back. I want to  move ahead  into the next year  with  positivity.”

 He is happy with the  roles he  did in 2020. “Workwise I had good  year with Naxalbari and then a special appearance  in  Black Widow.I got a call to  start  shooting  in Goa  for  Naxalbari in May. I was very excited . I always wanted to do a tedha role. No one trusted me to be bad on screen. I was only being offered Good  Boy roles. I am glad Zee5 trusted me with a  negative role. I am so lucky to get good reviews in  spite of taking an image risk.”

   But for his  OTT debut  aamir  wanted  to do something different.  “The OTT platform has changed the profile of  the moviegoing audience. On OTT we’re  now doing  what  we couldn’t do in the cinema.It has helped us actors  and the audience.  For  me as  an actor, it’s a  great opportunity having done  mostly television  so  far,” says Aamir happily

His take  on  Cinema versus OTT?  “Cinema is a different ballgame  altogether.OTT gives  filmmakers and actors an opportunity to go all-out and be real. OTT gives  actors and filmmakers  a chance to go  all-out  and be real. Cinema  doesn’t always offer us  that  kind of liberty. There’s censorship to ensure  cinema remains family-friendly whereas OTT provides a larger platform of expression.”

 Aamir  watched    lot of   shows  during the year.  “During  the lockdown a lot of people were cooking  cleaning and learning carpentry.  My thing  was to just watch shows and films  and  learn  from what  actors were  doing  in the  India  and  the rest  of the world.When I  was feeling low during the lockdown I re-watched  fun shows  like  Entourage, Californication,  Game  Of  Thrones, Vikings, Kingdom of Heaven Lucifer…all over again. In India too we’re making  terrific  shows on  OTT.  I loved  Family Man and Scam 1992.”

As a  huge a fan  of Rishi Kapoor  and Irrfan Khan, Aamir Ali was heartbroken by their passing away. “Of course we  knew  they  both Rishi Sir  and  Irrfan  Sir had cancer. But somehow I thought Irrfan Sir would  pull  through. I was shocked by his going . I loved his performances. But  I was most shaken by Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. We knew each other well  though we didn’t meet that  often.We had done a reality show Zara Nachke Dikha together. I’ve fond memories  of him. Every time we met we took up from  where we left  off. How could he go away  like this?.”

Aamir Khan handles  the excesses  of social media to the  best  of  his ability. “You have  to be strong  and you  have  take it with a pinch of salt. Being a Muslim I’ve been trolled for going to a friend’s house  for Ganpati. I am a Muslim  but I am an Indian first. For  my  personal life  I’ve  luckily  not  got trolled.”

There  is  a lot of media speculation  on  Aamir’s  marriage to actress Sanjeeda Sheikh. All he will say  is, “I’ve known  my wife Sanjeeda  for a very long time. I’ve maintained a dignified silence all through the rumours and speculations. I  wouldn’t like to  speak  about this. I hope you understand.”

Aamir  says he’s in a  good  personal space. “The year has ended well. 2020 has been good workwise. Personally too I am more sorted now. I think 2021 seems  promising. I  hope  all the terrible things  of  2020 are behind us.”