1984–1989: Early struggle and breakthrough In addition to assisting Hussain, he acted in documentaries directed by the students of the
Film and Television Institute of India. Director
Ketan Mehta noticed Khan in those films, and offered him a role in the low-budget experimental film
Holi. Featuring an ensemble cast of newcomers,
Holi was based on a play by Mahesh Elkunchwar, and dealt with the practice of
ragging in India.
The New York Times said that the film was "melodramatic" but "very decently and exuberantly performed by the nonprofessional actors". Khan played a rowdy college student, an "insignificant" role
Holi failed to attract a broad audience, but Hussain and his son
Mansoor cast him as the leading man in Mansoor's directorial debut
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) opposite
Juhi Chawla. It became a major commercial success, and catapulted both Khan and Chawla to stardom. It received seven
Filmfare Awards including a
Best Male Debut trophy for him. , a crime thriller from Bhattacharya that was filmed before the production of
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, was released in 1989. Despite a poor reception at the box office, the film was critically acclaimed. Khan was awarded a
National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention for his performances in both
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and . Later that year, he reunited with Chawla for the romantic comedy
Love Love Love, a Average Grosser .
1990–2004: Rise to prominence and hiatus Khan had five releases in 1990. He found no success in
Awwal Number,
Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin and
Jawani Zindabad. However,
Tahir Hussain's
fantasy drama Tum Mere Ho again co-starring Chawla was a hit and
Indra Kumar's
romantic drama Dil opposite
Madhuri Dixit emerged a blockbuster as well as the
highest-earning film of 1990. This was followed by a leading role alongside
Pooja Bhatt in
Mahesh Bhatt's
Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, a remake of the American film
It Happened One Night, which too was a box office hit. He appeared in several other films in the early 1990s, including
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992),
Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993) (for which he also wrote the screenplay), and
Rangeela (1995). Most of these films were successful critically and commercially. Other successes include (1994) alongside
Salman Khan; at the time of its release, the movie was reviewed unfavorably by critics, but over the years has gained cult status. In 1993, Khan also appeared in
Yash Chopra's
action drama film
Parampara. Despite having an ensemble cast that included
Sunil Dutt,
Vinod Khanna,
Raveena Tandon, and
Saif Ali Khan, the film failed to find a wide audience and became a critical and commercial failure. Khan was also cast in
Time Machine; however, due to financial constraints, the film was shelved and remained unreleased. He continued to act in just one or two films a year, which was an unusual trait for a mainstream Hindi cinema actor. His only release in 1996 was the
Dharmesh Darshan directed huge blockbuster
Raja Hindustani, in which he was paired opposite
Karisma Kapoor. The film earned him his first
Filmfare Award for Best Actor after seven previous nominations, and went on to become the biggest hit of the year, as well as the third-highest grossing Indian film of the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation,
Raja Hindustani is the fourth
highest-grossing film in India since the 1990s. In 1997, he acted in
Ishq, which proved to be another blockbuster for him. The following year, Khan appeared in
Vikram Bhatt's
action thriller Ghulam, for which he also did
playback singing. The film received positive response from reviewers and went on to become a hit at the box office.
John Mathew Matthan's
Sarfarosh, Khan's first film in 1999, was also a commercially successful venture. The film and Khan were highly appreciated by movie critics, as was his role in
Deepa Mehta's Canadian-Indian
art house film
Earth (1998). by critics such as
Roger Ebert for Khan's portrayal of Dil Nawaz ("Ice Candy Man"). His first release for the 2000s,
Mela, in which he acted alongside his brother Faisal, was both a box office and critical failure. In 2001, he produced and starred in
Lagaan, and received a nomination for
Best Foreign Language Film at the
74th Academy Awards. The film also received critical acclaim at several international film festivals, in addition to winning numerous Indian awards such as a
National Film Award. Khan also won his second Filmare Award for Best Actor. He then took a four-year break from Bollywood after his divorce from Reena Dutta.
2005–2017: Return to films and global success Khan made a comeback in 2005 as the lead in Ketan Mehta's
Mangal Pandey: The Rising, which was screened at the
Cannes Film Festival.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's
Rang De Basanti was Khan's first film in 2006. His performance was critically acclaimed, earning him a
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor and various nominations for
Best Actor. The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year, and was selected as India's
official entry to the Oscars. Although the film was not shortlisted as a nominee for the Oscar, it received a nomination for the
BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language at the
BAFTA Awards in
England. In Khan's next movie,
Fanaa (2006), he played a
Kashmiri insurgent terrorist, his second antagonistic role after
Earth, the role offered him creative possibilities to try something different. His 2007 film, , was also produced by him and marked his directorial debut. The film, which was the second release from Aamir Khan Productions, opened to positive responses from critics and audiences. His performance was well-received, though he was particularly applauded for his directing. He received the Filmfare Awards for Best Director and Best Film of 2007, as well as the
National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare. The film won other awards, including the 2008
Zee Cine Awards and 4th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards. The film was initially acclaimed as India's official entry for the 2009
Academy Awards Best Foreign Film. In 2008, Khan appeared in the film
Ghajini. The film was a major commercial success and became the highest-grossing Bollywood movie of that year. For his performance in the film, he received several
Best Actor nominations at various award ceremonies as well as his fifteenth
Filmfare Best Actor nomination. '' in 2013. In 2009, he appeared in
3 Idiots as Ranchodas Chanchad. The film became the
highest-grossing Bollywood film ever at the time, and broke the previous record set by
Ghajini.
3 Idiots was one of the few Indian films to become a success in East Asian markets such as
China and
Japan at the time, making it the
highest-grossing Bollywood film ever in overseas markets. In May 2012, it was the first Indian film to be officially released on YouTube. The film won six
Filmfare Awards (including
Best Film and
Best Director), ten
Star Screen Awards, eight
IIFA Awards, and three
National Film Awards. Overseas, it won the Grand Prize at Japan's Videoyasan Awards, and was nominated for
Best Outstanding Foreign Language Film at the
Japan Academy Awards and Best Foreign Film at China's
Beijing International Film Festival. Aamir Khan has been credited with opening up the
Chinese markets for Indian films. His father Tahir Hussain previously had success in China with
Caravan, but Indian films declined in the country afterwards, until he opened up the Chinese market for Indian films in the early 21st century.
Lagaan became the first Indian film to have a nationwide release there. When
3 Idiots released in China, the country was only the 15th largest film market partly due to China's widespread pirate DVD distribution at the time, which introduced the film to most Chinese audiences, becoming a
cult hit in the country. It became China's 12th favourite film of all time, according to ratings on Chinese film review site
Douban, with only one domestic Chinese film (
Farewell My Concubine) ranked higher. As a result, he gained a large growing Chinese fanbase. By 2013, China grew to become the world's second largest film market (after the United States), contributing to Khan's box office success with
Dhoom 3 (2013),
PK (2014), and
Dangal (2016). Khan, who never knew how to swim went under rigorous training for this underwater sequence. He was trained for 3 months under a specialist trainer and went well prepared for the shoot. According to
Box Office India,
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within grossed 912 million net by the end of its run and was declared a "semi-hit". His next venture was
Dhoom 3 with
Yash Raj Films, which he considered to be the most difficult role of his career. The film was released worldwide on 20 December 2013.
Box Office India declared
Dhoom 3 "the biggest hit of 2013" after two days of release, with the film grossing worldwide in three days and worldwide in ten days, making it the
highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. In 2014, he appeared as the eponymous alien in
Rajkumar Hirani's comedy-drama
PK. The film received critical acclaim and emerged as the 4th highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. Raja Sen called the film a "triumph" and said: "Aamir Khan is exceptional in
PK, creating an irresistibly goofy character and playing him with absolute conviction." The film won two Filmfare Awards, and in Japan received a top award at the 9th
Tokyo Newspaper Film Awards event held by
Tokyo Shimbun. In 2016, he produced and starred in
Dangal, and was cast as wrestler
Mahavir Singh Phogat. He played him at different ages, from 20 to 60 years old; he weighed 98 kg to portray the older Phogat before losing weight to play the younger version. The film received positive reviews from critics and emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time domestically, surpassing
PK, making it the fifth time he had achieved this feat.
Dangal also became an overseas blockbuster success in China, where it was the
16th highest-grossing film of all time, the 8th highest-grossing foreign film, and the highest-grossing non-Hollywood foreign film. Worldwide, it became the fifth highest-grossing non-English language film of all time, and gave him one of the
highest salaries for a non-Hollywood actor at $42 million.
Dangal has also been watched over million times on Chinese streaming platforms. The film won him two more Filmfare Awards (Best Film and his third
Best Actor award). In October 2017, he starred in a supporting role in his production
Secret Superstar. The film went on to become one of the most profitable films of all time, grossing worldwide on a
limited budget of and is the highest-grossing Indian film featuring a female protagonist.
2018–present: Career slump and limited success In November 2018, he starred alongside
Amitabh Bachchan in the action-adventure film
Thugs of Hindostan. The film received negative reviews from critics. Produced at an estimated budget of , it is one of the
most expensive Bollywood films. the film grossed () at the worldwide box office and was considered a financial failure. In March 2019, on his 54th birthday, Aamir Khan confirmed that he would be seen next in
Laal Singh Chaddha, an adaptation of
Forrest Gump. The film features him in the lead and is directed by
Advait Chandan, who previously directed Khan in
Secret Superstar. The film's release on 11 August 2022 marked Khan's return after a four-year hiatus, opening to mixed reviews from critics. The film flopped miserably at the box office and was declared a "disaster". In an interview with
Hindustan Times, Khan expressed sorrow over the failure of
Laal Singh Chaddha, stating, "I made so many mistakes in this film on so many levels. Thank God I made these mistakes in just one film." After another three year hiatus, Khan played a suspended basketball coach who must serve community service by helping a team of players with disabilities, in
Sitaare Zameen Par opposite
Genelia D'Souza.
Saibal Chatterjee noted, "Khan effortlessly slips into the character of a temperamental man who is often mocked for his short stature." The film did a lifetime business of 266.49 crore, thus emerging a hit. The film's success was attributed to a modest budget and positive reception for its portrayal of
neurodivergence, however, it underperformed compared to Khan's peak years. == Film production and direction ==