Aamir ko gussa kyun aaya tha ??

 Aamir Khan sued Bennett Coleman, publishers of the Times of India and Filmfare magazine for running this ad using his photograph and a 'quote' without his consent. Aamir demanded Rs 21 crores and an apology.


A 'close associate' of the actor told Midday: "One can’t attribute quotes to someone or use his picture to promote or endorse something without permission... After all, they are cashing in on his reputation and image, and he has the right to choose what he endorses."


And Aamir would never endorse the Filmfare awards because he 'does not believe in awards'. Or any others, for that matter except the National Awards. And, I guess the Oscars.

This, I think, rankled the folks at Filmfare. Other stars were featured in the series of ads but note how staid the copy was. Woh to award lene aayenege, unhe naraaz thodi kar sakte they....

The one with Amitabh read: Amitabh Bachchan has been nominated for 'Black'. On Feb 25, the Lady in Black will decide.


And the copy in Junior B's ad was identical! Abhishek has been nominated for 'Bunty aur Babli'. On Feb 25, the Lady in Black will decide.


Had they similarly written 'Aamir is nominated for 'Mangal Pandey' I doubt the star would have bothered to sue them. But implying he 'incited a revolt to win over the Lady in Black' (the Filmfare statuette) is a bit over the top.

I think if an actor does not believe in awards you should respect that and not nominate him in the first place. Organisers, please keep this in mind next year - there were other fine actors in Rang de Basanti besides Aamir.

But of course if it isn't a major 'star' the nomination will only be for 'best supporting actor'.


Besides, that year saw both Karan Johar and Rakesh Roshan releasing films which meant the competition would be Shahrukh vs Hrithik.


And oh, KJo's film also featured Amitabhji and Abhishek.

I simply don't understand the logic here. Just because Big-B and Little-B didn't have a problem did it mean everyone else shouldn't? This is the chalta hai attitude we are notorious for. Bennett and Coleman was not the roadside paan-wala dukaan to slap an image of XYZ chewing paan. Aamir was being a thorough professional and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. That wasn't about money. This was about pissing off people who took others for granted.


I think that Benett & Coleman tried to take mileage of Aamir, the person whom the country knew. If he did not want to be in any ads without his permission, that needed to be respected by TOI.


In all fairness, this was a very silly thing. Why should we all waste our energies in either supporting or speaking against TOI. Both of them gained a huge lot of internet space anyway.


Sigh! Wish more stars would revolt against these 'I Love You-You Love me, We're One Big Happy Family' series of awards...