Aamir Khan turns 56: Five things that Mr Perfectionist gave Hindi cinema

Think of a sobriquet for Aamir Khan and 'the man of many firsts' can easily take the top spot. Aamir Khan turns 56 today but as far as his recent box-office performances are concerned, he's way beyond a ton. Probably, what the Chinese may not have seen is the charming romantic matinee hero that Aamir was back in the 1990s, a part of an emerging generation of male superstars many of whom are still going great guns today and have stayed relevant: Ajay Devgan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Each Aamir Khan movie is vastly different from the other. At a time when stars were doing multiple shifts churning out a blizzard of films annually, Aamir defied the norm by resolving to do only one project a year. Although his track record is impeccable thanks to a real rack-up of one hit after another there are times when even Aamir Khan goes wrong. Remember Deepika Padukone's appearance last year at the JNU students' protest triggering backlash? In 2006, Aamir Khan lent a voice to the Narmada Bachao Andolan and found himself instantly at the centre of a controversy.