If there’s one Bollywood actor known for the vast array of roles he has essayed and also for committing to those roles fully and at every level, it would be Aamir Khan. He has transformed himself in amazing, often extreme ways to look the part he has to play. We now hear that it is Aamir Khan who will be playing Rakesh Sharma, India’s first astronaut – so in a sense this is Aamir Khan breaching that final frontier… space.
Bollywood’s Mr. Method
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Recall the many roles Aamir Khan has played in his life: he has been a school boy (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar), he has been a cop (Sarfarosh, Baazi, Talaash), the buffoon (Andaz Apna Apna) he has been a revolutionary (Mangal Pandey), a college boy (3 Idiots), the tapori (Ghulam, Rangeela), the villager (Lagaan), the vengeful Dil Navas (Earth) the terrorist/ lover (Fanaa) the urbane man about town (Dil Chahta Hai), the acrobat/ magician (Dhoom 3), the teacher (Taare Zameen Par), the crazed man with a rare type of amnesia (Ghajini), an Bihari/ alien (PK) and will soon be seen as a pehelwan or wrestler in Dangal.
We have seen him gain weight, lose weight, create a highly muscled, ripped physique, look way younger than his age, we have seen him sport some impressive facial hair and even a ponytail! Clearly he gives his all to his roles and prepares for them thoroughly and conscientiously. It is nothing short of a transformation that we see each time on screen.
The story of Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma
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Then Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma (he retired as Wing Commander) was the first Indian man in space. It was back in 1984 that this Indian Air Force officer created history by being the first Indian in space when he was part of a space mission by the former USSR aboard the Soyuz T-11. After his training at the NDA (National Defence Academy) he joined the IAF in 1970 as a pilot who flew various different crafts. Later he was chosen to be India’s first man in space.
After leaving the IAF, he joined HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) as chief test pilot. He was awarded the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra and was also awarded the Hero of Soviet Union. Few Indians today know how significant it was for an Indian to be in space in 1984. Clearly this is a story that needs to be told.
So will we see Aamir Khan in a new avatar as an upright, clean cut IAF officer next? Most likely. He is probably getting a feel of Zero Gravity situations even as we speak.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
