It was an interview that began like any other — another filmmaker reminiscing about his time in the film industry.
But as director Abhinav Kashyap settled into his conversation with Bollywood Thikana, what followed turned into a searing critique of one of Indian cinema’s most revered stars — Aamir Khan.
Kashyap, best known for directing Dabangg and for his unfiltered candor, painted a picture of the superstar far removed from his public persona — a man driven by control, perfectionism, and a need to dominate every frame he touches.
“He’s the slyest fox of them all”.
Kashyap’s tone sharpened when he spoke about working with Aamir on advertising projects early in his career. He’s the slyest fox of them all,” Kashyap said, without hesitation.
“He’s shorter than Salman, but far more manipulative. I’ve made two or three ads with Aamir.
He’s very particular — and working with him is exhausting. He interferes in everything — editing, direction, you name it. It’s a complete system designed for control.”
The director described how every creative space Aamir entered soon became his territory.
According to Kashyap, the actor’s obsession with detail often crossed into micromanagement, leaving little room for others to breathe or innovate . I
t’s like an ecosystem of precision that smothers creativity,” he said. “He drains the energy out of the set.”
The myth of perfectionism
Aamir Khan has long been celebrated as Bollywood’s “Mr. Perfectionist” — an actor who immerses himself in every detail, every take.
But Kashyap questioned whether that perfectionism truly translates into brilliance on screen.
He takes 25 takes for one shot,” Kashyap said, leaning forward. “But I’ve watched them — the first and the last take are the same.
He just watches himself, says, ‘One more, a little more, something’s missing,’ but there’s nothing different. It’s an illusion of effort — perfectionism that looks deep but achieves little.”
In Kashyap’s telling, the myth of Aamir’s perfectionism is more about control than craft, a performance behind the performance.
The Aamir ecosystem — why do filmmakers keep returning?
If Aamir is as difficult as Kashyap claims, why do the biggest filmmakers still gravitate towards him?
The director didn’t shy away from asking the question himself. Rajkumar Hirani, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra — they’re strong filmmakers.
They’ve made their names,” he said. “Then why do they keep meeting at Aamir Khan’s house? Why do they keep returning to him? What’s there that others don’t have?”
Kashyap implied that Aamir’s influence in the industry extends beyond his acting — that his charisma, networking, and subtle pressure make him almost unavoidable in big-ticket cinema.
The social question: When the cameras turn away
The conversation then turned from cinema to society. Kashyap, known for his forthright opinions on celebrity privilege, questioned Aamir’s contributions outside the film world.
When floods hit, when people suffer — what has Aamir done?” he asked. “He earned more than 2000 crore rupees from Dangal’s success in China, but where is his contribution?”
His tone was not bitter — it was incredulous, as if trying to reconcile the image of the socially conscious Aamir from Satyamev Jayate with the man he described.
The Mahavir Phogat episode
The filmmaker went further, invoking the real-life hero behind Dangal. I read that Mahavir Phogat wanted to open an Akhada in Haryana to train young wrestlers — the same man whose life gave Aamir his biggest film,” Kashyap said.
“It was reported that Aamir refused to help. How much would it cost to build an Akhada?
He doesn’t owe him anything, sure — maybe he paid for the rights. But some gestures speak louder than contracts.”
It was a rare moment of reflection amid the criticism — an acknowledgment that while business may have its rules, empathy still has its place.
“He oversteps his boundaries.”
As the interview drew to a close, Kashyap’s verdict on Aamir was blunt. He oversteps his boundaries as an actor,” he said.
“He takes over everything — from direction to editing to the final cut. Once Aamir enters, it’s no longer your film. It becomes his.”
In the end, Abhinav Kashyap’s words read less like gossip and more like a filmmaker’s lament — a creative voice frustrated by what he sees as the suffocating dominance of one man’s perfectionism in a collective art form.
Whether one views it as an exposé or an expression of creative disillusionment, Kashyap’s take on Aamir Khan strips away the gloss and leaves behind a portrait of Bollywood’s power politics — where genius, ego, and control often walk hand in hand.
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