Shoot! I forgot this entirely and I have nothing prepared! Oh well, I will repost from last year I guess.
1.He was the first Khan to hit it big, Qayamet Se Qayamet Tak came out a year and a half before Maine Pyar Kiya, and 4 years and two months before Deewana.
2. QSQT wasn’t technically his first movie, that was Yaadon Ki Baarat, and he looked adorable.
3. He has sticky-outy ears (see above and below), and I have come to find them kind of endearing.
4. He has the most changeable hair of all the Khans, going from poof to mullet to cool guy short to long and in period to shaven and back again.
5. He is also the most-mustachiod of the Khans. And, I think, wears it best.
6. His first adorable song.
7. His second adorable song
8. His third adorable song
9. His fourth adorable song
10. His fifth adorable song
11. That in his second adorable song, he agreed to be partnered with the tallest extra, and then had him raise his hands up to make him look even taller, while Aamir looks like a witty-bitty doll boy (4:10 through 4:22).
12. That in the same adorable song, his new wife was an extra who could not stop laughing at him (4:50 through 5:12, in the red dress).
13. That he was launched opposite similarly adorable and young and very short Juhi Chawla.
14. That baby Imran Khan plays baby Aamir in this film, just like Aamir jumped in to help out and play young Takir Khan (Aamir’s cousin) in Yaadon ki Baarat.
(aw, little Imran! Did not inherit the family ears)
15. That his third adorable song takes the “dancing around the trees” trope and embraces it.
16. That you were in a terrible movie, which lead to a brilliant humorous youtube video
17. Also, this scene from Dil. You know, I think I like the scenes in this movie even better than the songs!
(See, he tricked Madhuri into betting that she would kiss him if he won the fight. Also, how cute is Madhuri in those pigtails?)
18. This scene from Dil, in which Madhuri sends a message
19. Well, I like this Dil song at least. It’s got kind of a Grease vibe, doesn’t it?
20. Oh, and this one. Especially the sad peddle boat memories (don’t worry, the movie has a happy ending after all)
21. That at the start of your career, you worked hard and didn’t mind being in bad movies, so long as you could use your popularity to promote the better ones that otherwise might go unnoticed.
22. That you helped give Farah Khan her start, when she did her first ever song, “Pehle Nasha”, for one of those better movies that would never have gotten made without your support, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander.
23. That you decided early on to ignore the awards shows, and thus proved how little they matter, since it had no effect on your career.
24. That you were in arguably the best Raj Kapoor film adaptation, and definitely the best Clark Gable film adaptation, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (It Happened One Night-Chori Chori-Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin).
25. That you consistently allowed your female co-stars to shine, whether it was Juhi in QSQT or Pooja Bhatt in Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin or Manisha Koirala in Akele Hum Akele Tum.
26. You can really really wear a captain’s hat.
27. That you look good even in slow motion.
28. That you still look good in slow motion 3 years later.
(I think the whole thing is in slight slow-motion, but the opening definitely is, and that’s my favorite part!)
29. That you were also the best father onscreen father, only 22 years after you yourself were playing child roles.
30. That you were also an excellent Uncle onscreen.
(How cute is Juhi? Also, that’s little Kunal Khemu in the backseat, 3 years before Raja Hindustani made him a child star and 22 years before he married Soha Ali Khan)
31. That you were the first Khan to kiss onscreen, breaking the ground for a new attitude towards sex onscreen.
32. That you did that kiss in a movie that also made Kunal Khemu a star, which gave the world hot-hot Kunal Khemu a mere 10 years later.
33. That the same movie served to re-invent Karisma Kapoor, in perhaps the biggest example of your generosity towards your female co-stars.
34. That you followed up Raja Hindustani, one of your all time great movies, with one of your all-time worst, Ishq.
35. That you re-bounded from Ishq with the one-two-three punch of Ghulam, Sarfarosh, and Earth.
36. That Raja Hindustani included one of the all time great dignified longing songs.
37. That you actually got drunk for this song.
38. That you were in Ishq, one of my favorite so-bad-its-good movies.
39. That you were in Ghulam, one of my favorite so-good-its-good movies.
40. That you were in Sarfarosh, which has my all time favorite Ghazal.
41. I love you because you were the first celebrity to come “out of the closet” about using a surrogate.
42. I love you because you have been married twice, and both times you chose someone outside of the fame whirlpool, the girl next door for your first wife and a hardworking behind the scenes producer for your second.
43. I love you because you also went outside of the box for your last 4 heroines. Two talented child actresses, and two unknown adult actresses. Not famous models or daughters of superstars or beauty queens.
44. I love you because you are helping your own daughter achieve her dreams, encouraging her to continue her career behind the camera.
45. I love you because you continue to pick projects that sound INSANE, and then make them work in execution. I have faith that your Thugs of Hindustan will be similarly strange but dignified.
46. I love you because at age 45 you made me believe you were 18.
47. I love you because you also made me believe you were an alien! Which was almost as hard.
48. I love you because you made me go “wow, Aamir is such a great actor! Really believable as the father of grown children” and then 2 hours later go “Wait, he IS the father of grown children! I just never think of him that way.”
49. I love you because on the very first songs DVD I bought, this quickly became my favorite song.
50. I love you because you and Juhi Chawla are just as cute together today as you were when you were launched.
51. I love you because you are also awfully cute with your family. And you gave us a Holi themed picture!
52. I love you for this even cuter photo from back when Azad was tinier.
53. I love you because you throw Azad the dorkiest most enthusiastic birthday parties.
54. And finally, I love you because this picture gives me endless joy and amusement
dontcallitbollywood 
I have faith that your Thugs of Hindustan will be similarly strange but dignified. 😭😭😭
I think another great example of Aamir being generous with female costars is Talaash, where Rani and Kareena are amazing and Aamir is also amazing but low key and lets them stand out in their scenes together.
So I heard a podcast about Dhobi Ghat and someone remarked that they never found Aamir sexy anywhere else but they did in this film because he was being seen through the lens of his wife and I thought that was very interesting. Even though I didn’t like the film, clearly we need more women behind the camera.
Finally in my random thoughts on Aamir’s birthday, doing Forrest Gump is such a bad idea. It will play into all of his faults: relying on tricks and gimmicks instead of the solid good acting he’s more than capable of pulling off; a single starrer where he will dominate the film instead of being reined in by a strong cast. Meh, I say. Meh. I really wanted him to do the Osho project and it’s a shame that isn’t happening.
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Well, remakes are never exact. Forrest Gump could go terribly in Hindi, or be AWESOME. If it is made less as magical realism and more as realism-realism, the story of a disabled young boy who overcomes his challenges and so on, that could be great. I’m an optimist! Let’s think less Forrest Gump and more Taare Zameen Par!
On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 3:33 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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China! The love Chinese have for dysfunctional, emotional family stories is probably why Aamir is remaking Forrest Gump. I can’t imagine anyone in India being interested about it since the original has been on Indian TV screens for a really long period and is generally considered a classic. Gosh,I can’t bear Aamir doing weird-eye-acting one more time.
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If that’s their plan, they need to rethink things! China hasn’t given a hit in like a year, including family stories and Aamir stories.
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Secret Superstar was a big hit in China so maybe it’s a good plan? I agree with MKP that I can’t bear any more weird eye acting from Aamir. You can actually act, Aamir, please stop with the tics and gimmicks.
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Going through your list reminded me of how much of my pre-teen fantasy was fueled by Aamir Khan, despite the fact that I always identified as an SRK girl. Aamir in QSQT was probably the first time I was “attracted” to a guy – I was 9 at the time. I also owned the Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin hat and definitely remember flashing back to this song when, years later in my mid 20s, a guy I was dating gave me his shirt because I was cold. Also, some great memories of watching Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar on a summer school trip sitting next to the guy I had an unspoken crush on. Pehlaa Nasha still makes me feel like that giddy 13 year old. Sigh.
Also, have you seen this Pepsi ad from 1990? It has Aamir, Mahima Chaudhary and Aishwarya. This was long before Aishwarya started in movies and was pretty much the first time most Indians knew of her existence. Your post somehow reminded me of this ad and since then I am trying to remember if Aamir and Aishwarya have ever done any movie together or if this is the only time they were together in something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIXWjS8aRsA
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I have seen the Pepsi ad! And it is so weird to see all of them acting like bouncy young people. Especially because I never think of Aish and Aamir as the same age.
Come to think of it, Aamir was the first actor to make an impression on me too! Lagaan, and then Rangeela, and then Dil Chahta Hai. Of course, SRK in DDLJ over-shadowed all the Aamirs, but I still get a little nostalgic thrill watching those movies.
On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 5:16 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I think Aishwarya was still a teen in this ad. This was a good 4 or 5 years before her Miss World win. She is about 10 years younger than Aamir.
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They co-acted in few coca cola ads in 90s. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=aFEoJ0p5y1w
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(Oh hey, first comment here! Thanks for this very wonderful, very useful blog.)
I’ve only seriously started watching Indian movies this year–before that my experience was pretty much limited to Jab We Met and some Satyajit Ray–and I admit that I gave QSQT a try without high expectations. I’m not a big Romeo and Juliet person! So it was surprise (yeah, I know, very silly surprise considering that the movie’s a classic and after all classics are classics for a reason! Well, usually!) to find myself so charmed by Aamir and Juhi. Their cuteness and innocence really worked, and those are qualities that can get annoying easily. I smile every time I rewatch Gazab Ka Hai Din!
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Yaaay, first comment!
And yes, QSQT really is something special. Aamir and Juhi are so cute and innocent and somehow the film is the same way, really sweet and innocent, no club songs or anything like that.
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Cute and innocent but also have an interesting dynamic with Juhi being the one who pushes the relationship forward. And when they die you really feel the tragedy of it. It doesn’t come across as two petulant teens having a tantrum which is always a pitfall with Romeo and Juliet remakes.
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Yes, exactly! I was nearly crying during Akele Hain To Kya Gum Hai because they’re so damn adorable and you know what’s about to happen. By far the most moved I’ve ever felt about an R&J type of story!
Juhi felt very relatable. I wouldn’t wanna to leave that forest either!
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