You may hate him, you may love him, but you can’t ignore the fact the AK is the only one among the celebrated big Khans of Bollywood who actually doesn’t take his audience for granted. Time and again, this little master of Bollywood belted out gripping performances in script oriented cinema with hard work, élan, and sheer skills that had left us no choice but to appreciate in awe. On his 51st birthday, let’s see why Aamir Khan is called Mr. Perfectionist. Redefining Cool In India Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai was a milestone cinema that changed the way Bollywood dealt with friendship. It marked the end of bullshit, unnecessary drama, death pacts and lofty dialogues that never really occur between friends. Aamir Khan stepped into the shoes of the bratty Akash and made the character immortal. The crew cut hair was the in-thing and the soul patch was something no Indian actor has dared to sport. The flamboyance, the wit, the naturalism that he bought into the role, was fresh and much needed. It changed the game for Bollywood actors who knew the days of over-acting are over.

Taking India to the Oscars

When Ashutosh Gowarikar’s brilliant script had no takers, Aamir Khan stepped up to produce the Oscar-nominated cinema. With one move, he had already proved that he had a vision that most actors fall short of. The epic tale of Bhuvan and his mates in Champaner trying to fight the British at a cricket match to get laid off the heavy taxation was a plot that nobody dared to venture with.

Not only did he take up the responsibility of such a large scale production, he also pulled off the role of the fearless village simpleton, Bhuvan with such seamlessness that we forgot it was Aamir Khan – just the way it should be. Doesn’t matter if it didn’t win the Oscar because it had won Indian cinema forever.

You don’t need to be a gym rat to play a cop

If you have seen Sarfarosh, you’d agree that unlike most mainstream actors in Bollywood, Aamir Khan didn’t need to look like a buffed up bag of protein shake to bring out the fierce, intense Ajay Singh Rathod in him. You take an honest hardworking man, destroy the happiness of his family and then have him denied justice, you’d know the amount of fight a dog of his size could have.

That’s exactly what Aamir Khan portrayed in this brilliantly shot action thriller by John Matthew Matthan and it was one of finest cop movies to have ever been made in India.