Aamil Keeyan Khan, who has worked as a writer on films like Runway 34, Drishyam 2 and Bholaa, is basking praises for his writing in Shaitaan. Shaitaan is having a glorious run at the Indian box office and is galloping its way towards the Rs 100 crore nett India mark. Aamil Keeyan Khan graced Pinkvilla with a telephonic interview of his, where he spoke about working with 3 Khans on a horror film, shared his experience working with Ajay Devgn on a host of films particularly Shaitaan and much more.
Aamil Keeyan Khan Shares Why It Is Difficult To Collaborate With The Three Khans On A Horror Film
Aamil Keeyan Khan was asked if he would like to work with the 3 Khan stalwarts, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan or Aamir Khan in a horror-thriller or supernatural-thriller, given that the trio hasn’t really explored this space of movies in their career spanning across five decades, and he is currently the go-to writer when it comes to writing films in the horror or supernatural space. The writer told that he would definitely want to work with all of them, provided that they are keen, working on one.
He said, “One is into romance and the other is into action. I feel Aamir Khan has really experimented with genres. Also, I am not sure if their audience is ready to see them in a horror film. To do a horror film, one really needs to be interested in the genre. For instance, Ajay Devgn sir is a huge horror movie buff”. “He is among the very few who has explored this genre. He did Bhoot and then even Kaal had supernatural elements”, the writer exemplified.
Aamil Keeyan Khan Says That Ajay Devgn Gives Very Clever Movie Inputs
Having worked with Ajay Devgn on so many films, Aamil was asked about whether Ajay gives inputs to his writers and directors, given that he is a director himself. To this he said, “Ofcourse he did. Ajay sir has always had very clever inputs, not just on this, but all the films on which I’ve worked with him. What’s nice is that, even though he is a director himself, he never interferes when he’s on the sets of another filmmaker as an actor and star. He completely submits to the character he’s playing and to the director he’s working with. In both Drishyam 2 and now Shaitaan, Abhishek Pathak and Vikas Bahl have made the films they wanted to, and brought their own unique strengths to the project as a director. If Ajay sir is trusting someone to helm a project, then he goes by their intuition completely and even when he does give creative inputs, he’s very sensitive and respectful in the way he does it”.
Aamil Keeyan Khan Calls Ajay Devgn A Very Generous Performer
Aamil went on to talk about how generous Ajay Devgn is as a performer. Explaining his stance, he said, “Not once during Shaitaan did he say, ‘mere lines badha do’ (Give me more lines/scenes). In fact, when I say that he’s extremely generous, what I mean is that he happily gives his lines away to co-stars because the director in him knows that those particular lines would be so much more impactful if the other character said it. He understands writing, character arcs, conflict and his presence, feedback and involvement on any project makes for some brilliant jamming sessions.”
Aamil Keeyan Khan Shares His Experience Working With Vikas Bahl On Shaitaan
When Aamil Keeyan Khan was asked about how it was like to collaborate with Vikas Bahl on a film like Shaitaan, considering that he is not much into horror films, he said, “Ajay sir and I are horror moviebuffs and that really balances it all out” (laughs). He cleared that Shaitaan isn’t essentially a horror film and it is more in the space of a supernatural-thriller and thus it also doesn’t have jumpscare moments that horror films conventionally do. “Vikas Bahl didn’t go about Shaitaan as a horror film or a supernatural film. He saw Shaitaan as a film exploring complex family emotions. He gave a lot of his own inputs while making the film too”, he concluded.
Was Aamil Skeptical About The Performance Of Shaitaan Since It Is Remake?
As most may know, Shaitaan is an official remake of the Gujarati film Vash. On asking Aamil Keeyan Khan if or whether he was skeptical about the film’s reception since it is a remake, he immediately told that there was no skepticism at all. He shared that the goriness of Vash was toned down and the climax was changed positively to make it more family friendly. The skepticism was more to do with how the changes will be received than the movie being tagged as a remake.
Aamil Talks About His Upcoming Movie Sky Force Starring Akshay Kumar
Aamil Keeyan Khan expressed his excitement for Sky Force, spearheaded by Akshay Kumar, under the banner Maddock Films, which is set to release on the 2nd of October, 2024. He shared that it is inspired by a real life incident and it is coming about really well. He also added that the movie is very different from other films in the similar space (aerial-action).
What Else Is He Working On?
Apart from this, he talked about the other projects which he is working on as a writer, namely Maar Dhad Samachar, Jai Hind and a sequel to a much loved comedy.
Have you watched Shaitaan in theatres yet? How excited are you to watch Aamil Keeyan Khan’s upcoming films?
