When fans wonder at how the 75-year-old Amitabh Bachchan manages to stay so up to date and relevant after all these years, he himself often points out that a lot of his energy and learning comes from working with younger stars. He has been very generous in his praise of his Thugs of Hindostan co-actor Aamir Khan, going to the extent of saying “Aamir can be termed ‘great’, not me. I have enjoyed his performances and his films. He is an accomplished actor and a great star.”
Aamir has been even more gushing in his praise of the legendary Mr. Bachchan. “Working with Mr Bachchan was my dream and I’m really happy that I’m living it right now. I’m like a child in a toy shop and he is a complete joy to work with. His ability as an actor, his concentration, the effort that he puts in, his focus towards his work and above all, the kind of person he is, all this makes it a very enriching and memorable experience for me,” he has said.
Recommended Read: Big B set to wrap up ‘Thugs of Hindostan’
Now we learn that the two actors, among filmdom’s top stars and finest performers, also had a good bit of mutual learning happening between them. Apparently, when Aamir had visited Bachchan recently they got talking about the box office collections of Bachchan’s release, 102 Not Out. And that’s when Amitabh, after all these decades in filmdom, picked up a trade secret from his younger co-actor…
It was from Aamir that Bachchan learnt how to arrive at a film’s lifetime collections. The film’s first weekend figures multiplied by three apparently makes up its lifetime collection – Bachchan discovered this bit of knowledge from Aamir. Fact is, if Aamir is a great actor, he is probably as good a biz brain.
Incidentally, Aamir Khan hasn’t signed any film after Thugs of Hindostan, which he has almost wrapped up. He is currently nurturing his water conservation project Paani Foundation. He is also toying with the idea of reviving the TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ and doing his Mahabharata dream project. But before any of that he is planning a sabbatical before he decides on his next move. Even brilliant minds need some well-deserved rest and recreation!