The key to human creativity is metamorphosis.
Alien. Tycoon. Acrobat. Teacher. Student. Lover. Friend.
This is a man who has been them all.
Aamir Khan’s legacy mounts an image much larger than life can conjure. Let alone AI.
An instinct to tap into the new. A commitment to change, on an individual and social scale. A willingness to bring the angular to the mainstream: this has been emblematic of Khan’s career. Dil Chahta Hai triggered a new playbook for Bollywood in the wake of post-liberalisation. Rang De Basanti tapped into the sleeping idealism of a generation. Dangal and PK not only entertained, they spotlighted gender prejudices and religious superstition. With Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots, Khan mainstreamed difficult conversations about the education system in India and, intriguingly, found massive resonance in China.
His Midas touch is unique too: he doesn’t just churn out blockbusters that hit high above a 300-crore mark, he touches hearts as well. But it’s not always been magic dust. Khan had a phase of continuous flops, work he was ashamed of, a divorce, emotional vertigo, a brush with alcoholism. Which makes his creative reprisals even more inspirational.
“Creativity takes courage,” said the impressionist, Henri Matisse. For Aamir Khan, a recipient of both the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan, courage has been the constant building block to stardom and fame. He dropped out of formal education after high school to pursue a career in filmmaking. Snubbed the biggest film awards of the country over transparency. Spoke truth to power. Tackled fanatic backlash for sticking to his guns. During the 90s, when his peers were simultaneously making 20+ films, Khan chose to do just one film at a time. Today, that is the norm. In several other ways, he has repeatedly set benchmarks that others have followed: shapeshifting, using his body as a tool for art rather than a mere satchel for stardom.
So, as we stand at the crossroads of a radical time, when artificial intelligence has come to challenge the very meaning of art, and human creativity suddenly seems reducible, replicable, replaceable, who better than Khan to weigh in on the argument?
If AI can write scripts, generate paintings, dub speech, edit films, make still pictures move, all in a matter of seconds, what is the meaning of creativity in the first place? What is it that humans can do that machines can’t? What makes us unique? Is it hubris to want to hold out?
At SYNAPSE — set in the backdrop of a Hollywood strike, and lawsuits by actors and writers against AI companies for plagiarising not just their faces, words, minds, and style but their very existence — Khan will dissect the levers of his art, his personal arc, the ingredients of his ‘human-ness’. And step into the great debate about humans and machines.
This is a man who turned down being immortalised at Madame Tussauds because having his likeness captured in wax did not pique his interest. So what does he feel about having his doppelganger in digital? An unmissable session with a master actor.
*Due to unforeseen, personal circumstances, Aamir Khan could not participate in SYNAPSE 2024.
