Desi talk

19 ENTERTAINMENT July 4, 2025 www.desitalkchicago.com – that’s all you need to know Aamir Khan Reveals His Unexpected ‘Biggest’ Critic F resh off the success of Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan is riding high. The actor, known for his per- fectionist streak and an instinct for emotionally- resonant storytelling, recently appeared on On The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra. The show, produced by GautamThakker Films, gave fans a glimpse into the personal side of the usually reserved star. When asked who his biggest critic is, Aamir offered an unexpected yet deeply touching response. “All of my kids (Junaid Khan, Ira, Azad Rao) are honest with me and they critique my work,” he said with a smile, before pausing and then saying, ”But I think Reena, is one of my biggest critics.” In a heartfelt moment, Aamir shared how Reena’s feedback has always mattered to him for her unwavering honesty. “She’s always honest with me, and that’s some- thing I’ve always respected!” he said about his ex-wife. After watching Sitaare Zameen Par, Reena texted him. “She said, ‘Hey, Aamir, you were great. Loved the film!” And that meant a lot to me,” he added. “For her to say that, it told me the film had really landed.” The film has crossed Rs. 95 crore nett in India in 8 days.” By RajivVijayakar PHOTO:Spice PR Aamir Khan in Sitaare Zameen Par. On R.D. Burman’s Birth Anniversary, Looking At The Moonlighting Composers Like Him J une 27 marks the 86th birth anniversary of composer R.D. Burman, who was among the early composers to moonlight—that is, do something in cinema out- side music. Many composers have become playback singers, some are also lyricists frequently or rarely (Prem Dhawan, Ravindra Jain, Rajesh Roshan, Anu Malik, Nadeem of Nadeem-Shravan, Lalit of Jatin-Lalit, Vishal of Vishal-Shekhar, Sajid-Wajid, Himesh Reshammiya and Mithoon among them!). There have been quite a few films in which composers have made cameos as them- selves too. As a very much-justified grouse is that Pancham (as R.D. Burman is known) has been celebrated at every birth and death anniversary and other composers are ignored, I am ‘using’ his anniversary to highlight all composers (including him!) who have tried their hand at other cin- ematic departments. Pancham acted in comic roles in Bhoot Bungla and Pyar Ka Mausam with great timing, and one wishes one had seen more of him in that department. But both these films came before he became extremely busy as a composer. Here is an alphabetical list of the others. A.R. Rahman produced a musical named 99 Songs. Anu Malik made an appearance as himself here and there, but what counts are his roles as a pandit (!) in Guridner Chadda’s Bride And Prejudice and as an iras- cible talent judge in LSD 2! Bappi Lahiri has acted in Mr and Mrs Khanna as a singer named Victor, and also produced three films—Rock Dancer, Love Story 1998 (for which he was also billed as ‘writer’) and the Bengali Lal Dorja. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a multifaceted genius as writer, producer, director and actor in Bengali and Assamese cinema besides as lyricist, composer and singer. In Hindi cinema, he acted in and produced Ek Pal and wrote Chin- gaari besides scoring music and singing. Hemant Kumar remains a famous film producer in addi- tion to being a singer-composer: he has produced films as memorable as Bees Saal Baad, Kohra, Biwi Aur Makan and Khamoshi. Himesh Reshammiya Himesh made a superbly successful acting debut in Aap Kaa Surroor, and since then, he has acted in over 10 films, produced a few (like Badass Ravikumar) and even penned scripts for that film, Tera Surroor, The Expose, Khiladi 786 and Damadamm! But he is a unique case here, for he made a highly successful debut first as the producer, story writer and title-song composer of TV seri- als, led by Andaz before gravitating to filmmusic! Hridaynath Mangeshkar In Hindi cinema, Hridaynath Mangeshkar co-pro- duced the film, Lekin. Laxmikant-Pyarelal Laxmikant Kudalkar and Pyarelal Sharma began their careers as child artistes even as they were learning music. Among them were Laxmikant’s Ankhen and Narsi Bhagat. Pyarelal was also a child actor, and his films included Shammi Kapoor’s debut release, Rail Ka Dibba. Naushad produced Babul, Uran Khatola and Maalik and wrote the stories of Palki and Tere Payal Mere Geet. Unofficially, he is said to have also co-scripted and even financed other films! S.N. Tripathi , apart from being a well-known composer (especially of mythological and historical films) with an inclination towards classical music, was a prolific actor (over 50 films), director (reportedly 18 films) and writer of a few films as well. In all the latter three departments, he was largely associated with the same genres. Salil Chowdhury directed Pinjre Ke Panchhi and was the story writer for Bimal Roy classics like Do Bigha Zamin and Parakh. He also penned the screenplay of Roy’s Prem Patra. The composer also was the story writer for Naukri, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1981. Shankar Mahadevan (of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) Though never in Hindi movies, Shankar Mahadevan essayed the sterling role of a musician in the Marathi classic, Katyaar Kaaljaat Ghusali, a film with liberal usage of Hindi and Urdu. Shekhar Ravjiani (of Vishal-Shekhar ) was leading lady So- nam Kapoor’s love interest in Neerja. Wajid (of Sajid-Wajid) Sajid andWajid both played cameo roles occasionally, with Sajid playing a significant role inWanted. By RajivVijayakar PHOTO:Video Grab PHOTO:PublicityPhoto PHOTO:PublicityPhoto R.D. Burman and Mehmood enact a comic scene in Bhoot Bungla, marking the composer’s first film as actor and second as music director. A.R. Rahman produced the Hindi film, 99 Songs. Himesh Reshammiya is composer, singer, actor, writer and producer and began his career as a TV producer, writer and singer.