Aamir Khan was nervous about being called ‘tingu' but Javed Akhtar's advice saved him: ‘Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha were all tall men'

Indian Express

11-06-2025

Aamir Khan is known as the 'perfectionist' in the highly imperfect Hindi film industry. Aamir became a star with his debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in the late 1980s and has remained a star since then. While one might think that a star of such stature doesn't have any insecurities, Aamir recently revealed that when he was making his debut in the film, he was really conscious about his height. Aamir is approximately 5'5 and most actors in those days, like Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, were quite tall.
While making an appearance on Just Filmy Things' YouTube channel, the actor was asked about being called 'tingu (short)' in the trailer of his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par. Aamir recalled that back in the day, he was quite insecure about his height and shared, 'Amitabh Bachchan was at the top of the industry at that time, and then other male actors like Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna were all tall and strapping men. I was very nervous about whether a short actor like myself would be given any importance or not, but as it turned out, it was fine.'
Aamir said that after a while, he forgot all about his insecurity and shared how writer Javed Akhtar's statement helped him get over it. 'Javed Akhtar told me that 'a good sense of humour isn't only for fun and games, its real power comes to light when you are going through a difficult time.' He told me that a good sense of humour and the ability to laugh at oneself act like a shock absorber,' he shared.
ALSO READ: Sitaare Zameen Par first review: Sudha Murty calls Aamir Khan's comedy-drama an 'eye-opener' that offers 'deep philosophical lessons'
Previously, in a chat with Nana Patekar on Zee Music Company's YouTube channel, he shared that he had an 'inferiority complex' about his height in his early days. 'I used to feel that what if people don't accept me because of my height. This was my fear. But later I realised that all of this does not matter at all. But at that time, some kind of insecurity creeps in,' he said.
Aamir Khan hasn't had a blockbuster hit since 2016's Dangal. He has appeared in films like Secret Superstar, Thugs of Hindostan and Laal Singh Chaddha since then.
Directed by RS Prasanna, Sitaare Zameen Par also features Genelia Deshmukh and debutants Naman Misra, Rishi Shahani, Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishnan Varma, Vedant Sharmaa, Rishabh Jain, Ashish Pendse, Samvit Desai, Simran Mangeshkar, and Aayush Bhansali. The film releases in theatres on June 20.