阿米爾·汗：一個(gè)演員的使命

By+Devi+Shetty+and+Anand+Raj+OK

他是《三傻大鬧寶萊塢》中離經(jīng)叛道的學(xué)生蘭徹，他是《我的個(gè)神啊》中狀況百出的外星人PK，他是印度寶萊塢的國(guó)寶級(jí)演員阿米爾·汗。盡管阿米爾·汗的每一部電影幾乎都能帶來(lái)票房和口碑的雙豐收，但他并不滿足于僅僅通過(guò)表演來(lái)為觀眾帶去歡笑。從2012年起，阿米爾·汗開(kāi)始主持一檔社會(huì)紀(jì)實(shí)節(jié)目《真相訪談》，揭示印度社會(huì)的種種弊病。節(jié)目一經(jīng)播出便引起巨大的社會(huì)反響，甚至推動(dòng)了印度社會(huì)的變革。原本可以帶著明星光環(huán)享受光鮮的生活，為何要直面社會(huì)的陰暗與殘酷？或許正如阿米爾·汗在節(jié)目的開(kāi)篇寄語(yǔ)中所說(shuō)：“我無(wú)心激化矛盾，只為能改變這個(gè)時(shí)代。無(wú)論是誰(shuí)的心中，只要有星星之火，必將成燎原之勢(shì)?！?/p>

The stories were shocking， raw and deeply unsettling.

A call centre worker， Amisha Yagnik from Ahmedabad， western India， described the trauma she had to undergo after her husbands family forced her to abort her fetuses1）—six times in eight years—only because they were girls.

Parveen Khan， from Morena， Madhya Pradesh， her face deeply scarred， recalled how she was savagely bitten by her husband after she gave birth to a girl child against his wishes.

Schoolchildren in a village in northern India whispered how they were forced by teachers to clean the schools toilets and sit apart from other children only because they belong to a lower caste2）.

A widow revealed how her husband was murdered—for the crime of falling in love with her and marrying against her familys wishes …

These were just some of the people who opened up their hearts on Bollywood superstar Aamir Khans groundbreaking television show Satyamev Jayate （truth alone prevails， in Hindi） to expose first hand， some horrifying ills that are still dogging3） Indian society.

Clearly， there had never been anything quite like this on Indian television and more than 90 million people across the country stayed awake way past 11 pm on Sundays to watch the diminutive4） star bring to their living rooms not just harrowing5） and heartrending6） tales but also stories of hope， fortitude7） and human resilience.

“I wasnt attempting to change anybodys life with the show，” says 48-year-old Aamir in an exclusive interview with Friday.

“As an entertainer I wanted to connect with the people but I also wanted to prove that entertainment need not only make people laugh every time. I wanted every family to watch the show and connect with it. And Im glad that the people liked it.”

The show not only struck a chord8） with viewers but was powerful enough to echo in the echelons9） of power， goading several state governments to take stringent10） action.

The governments in northern Indian states such as Rajasthan and Haryana promptly initiated measures to curb female foeticide11）， coming down hard on12） illegal scanning centres that were encouraging female foeticide and shutting several down.

In southern India， the government of Karnataka， after viewing an episode that featured the plight of poor patients who were forced to buy prohibitively expensive medicine for their health conditions， immediately set up fair price shops selling medicine at highly subsidised13） prices.

In the capital New Delhi， a parliamentary committee also invited Aamir to share the knowledge he and his team gained while researching an episode on medical malpractice. One of the suggestions was for doctors to prescribe generic14） medicine instead of brands.

“I feel very happy， proud and humbled that the show was such a success，” says Aamir， who in April， 2013 was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine and featured on the cover of its Asian edition.

Although clearly thrilled with the viewership， the one-movie-a-year-star nonchalantly15） says， “I dont relate to ratings. What matters to me are the on-ground changes， the various governments that have reacted， the doctors in Rajasthan who have banded together to advise their errant16） colleagues to change ... This is what I set out to do and that it can happen on this scale is what thrills me.

“But its wonderful to see so many peoples attitudes changing around you. I think one of the biggest accomplishments of the show is it encourages us to publicly debate issues that otherwise we dont discuss， that were very uncomfortable talking about publicly.”

While his show held up a mirror to some of the ills plaguing Indian society， it also portrayed amazing stories of perseverance： of a street-side vegetable vendor who lost her husband because there were no doctors to help in her village but who put all her savings into building a hospital treating people free of cost; of a couple who were so devastated by the sights they witnessed in the aftermath of the 2001 Kutch earthquake that they decided to take in 56 children and look after them as their own in their house …

“I wanted to portray stories of hope as well，” Aamir says.

But making socially relevant shows is not Aamirs only forte17）. While proving that he can make intelligent movies—Lagaan， Taare Zameen Par， among others—that set the cash registers18） ringing， he was also not averse to acting in full-length commercial potboilers19） like the most recent Dhoom 3. “I chose to act in Dhoom 3 because I loved the script. I was excited by it.”

Although he began as a child artist in his director uncle Nasir Hussains film Yaadon ki Baraat （Procession of Memories） in 1973， his first commercial success as a hero was in the 1988 runaway20） hit Qayamat se Qayamat Tak （From Doom to Doom） which earned him an award for best male debut. Movie offers soon came flooding his way and it did not take long for 1.68m-tall Aamir to be labelled the Tom Hanks of India.

But he quickly made it clear that he would be picky when it came to choosing roles. “After Qayamat se Qayamat Tak， I got a lot of movies that I accepted but I was quite unhappy doing a few. So very early in my career， around the early 90s， I decided I would not do anything that I was not happy doing. I only wanted to do films I completely believed in，” says the star who was honoured with the fourth-highest civilian award in India， the Padma Shri21）， in 2003 for his contribution to the arts.

The strategy worked and even as his films were picking up awards they were also proving to be commercial successes—a rarity in Bollywood， where commercial and critical success dont often go hand in hand.

Although known for his penchant22） for choosing movies with a strong social message—Taare Zameen Par， which highlighted issues special needs children face in society， and 3 Idiots， which subtly and with generous doses of humour brought to light the inadequacies in the Indian education system—Aamir points out he has also acted in movies that dont have a strong social message.

“Movies with messages are not something I look for all the time. In fact there have been several which did not have a social message as such—Delhi Belly， Fanaa or Ghajini. They revolved around strong emotions. I look for plots that excite me， which touch me.”

He says working on Satyamev Jayate has been a fascinating and mind-expanding experience. “This journey has been exciting and extremely emotional for me. Its also been a journey of discovery. I feel Ive understood the people of this country better now.”

Aamirs easy， informal style of presentation， allowing the subjects to tell their story and not being afraid to reveal his emotions on camera， made the show all the more appealing.

“I am an emotional person and I cry easily，” admits the star.

“I dont believe in hiding my emotions，” he says. “If I am happy， I laugh and if I am sad， I cry. Sometimes when I watch a film that is moving I cry.”

Although he is the hero of blockbuster Dhoom 3， Aamir says it is his television show that “has enriched my life. Whatever I have given to the show， it has given me back 10 times. I feel absolutely blessed to be part of this.”

“I understand my country better. I get to meet the most amazing people who on the face of it23） may appear powerless， but are actually giants. Some of them may not be educated but the strength of character that they possess is simply remarkable. There are some people who show so much bravery even in the face of poverty and stressful conditions that I sometimes wonder if I would be as brave， even though I am in a better situation financially.”

Does he think that people have become more politically and socially responsible of late？

“For sure，” he says. “Actually for me this realisation that the people are ready for a political revolution happened in season one.

“The peoples response to the show was phenomenal. That gave me an indication that things are changing on the ground. People had this desire to change but just didnt know how to go about it. They just needed guidance.

“The fact that they came out in such large numbers on the streets during the Delhi rape case24） itself is an indication that people are ready to take action for change. I am glad that people are wanting to be part of a movement where they are part of the governance.”

So does he consider himself as a saviour of India？

“I dont see myself as a saviour，” he says. “I see myself as someone who is just trying to learn and this is a personal journey for me. A journey for enriching my own life and in the process， understanding my country better and the issues facing us together and the issues affecting our society.

“In the process of learning about those things Im hoping to share that with people. Thats all Im doing.”

And does he have any regrets？

No， says Aamir. “Some of my films may not have done well but I learnt from them. I give my failures as much importance as my successes.”

這些故事觸目驚心，如實(shí)坦陳，令人深感不安。

印度西部艾哈邁達(dá)巴德一個(gè)電話服務(wù)中心的職員阿米莎·雅尼克在婆家的強(qiáng)迫下八年內(nèi)六次打胎——只因?yàn)樗龖训氖桥ⅰＫv述了自己由此所遭受的創(chuàng)痛。

中央邦莫雷那的帕文·汗臉上帶著深深的疤痕，她回憶了當(dāng)她違背丈夫的意愿生下一個(gè)女孩后，丈夫是如何殘暴地毆打她的。

印度北部一個(gè)村莊里的學(xué)童們悄聲講述，他們只因?qū)儆谳^低的種姓，就被老師強(qiáng)迫清洗學(xué)校的廁所并跟其他孩子分開(kāi)坐。

一名寡婦吐露了她丈夫是如何被殺害的——他的罪過(guò)就是愛(ài)上她并違背她家人的意愿娶了她……

上面這些僅僅是在寶萊塢巨星阿米爾·汗制作的具有開(kāi)創(chuàng)意義的電視節(jié)目《真相訪談》（在印地語(yǔ)中意為“真理至上”）中敞開(kāi)心扉的部分人的故事，他們用第一手資料曝光了至今仍在困擾印度社會(huì)的一些駭人聽(tīng)聞的弊病。

顯然，印度的電視上此前從未播出過(guò)類似的節(jié)目。周日晚11點(diǎn)后，印度全國(guó)有超過(guò)九千萬(wàn)人仍不眠不休，看著電視里這位小個(gè)子明星將一個(gè)個(gè)故事展現(xiàn)在他們的起居室中。這些故事中不僅有令人痛苦和心碎的，也有表現(xiàn)希望、堅(jiān)強(qiáng)和人的韌性的。

“我并沒(méi)有試圖用這個(gè)節(jié)目改變?nèi)魏稳说纳??！?8歲（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2014年1月）的阿米爾在接受《星期五》雜志獨(dú)家采訪時(shí)表示。

“作為藝人，我希望接觸民眾，但我同樣希望證明，娛樂(lè)并非每次都只是要給觀眾帶去歡笑。我希望每個(gè)家庭都收看這個(gè)節(jié)目并與它產(chǎn)生共鳴，我很高興人們喜歡這檔節(jié)目?！?/p>

節(jié)目不僅觸動(dòng)了觀眾的心弦，其影響力之大甚至在權(quán)力階層中也激起了回響，促使一些地方政府采取了嚴(yán)厲的措施。

印度北部的拉賈斯坦和哈里亞納等邦政府立即出臺(tái)措施，限制非法墮女胎，對(duì)助長(zhǎng)非法墮女胎行為的不法醫(yī)學(xué)掃描中心嚴(yán)加懲處，并關(guān)閉了其中的幾家。

印度南部的卡納塔克邦政府看到一期節(jié)目講述了患病的窮人被迫購(gòu)買價(jià)格極其昂貴的藥物治病的苦境，隨后立即開(kāi)設(shè)了一些平價(jià)藥店，以享受高額補(bǔ)貼的價(jià)格出售藥品。

在首都新德里，議會(huì)的一個(gè)委員會(huì)也邀請(qǐng)阿米爾跟他們分享他和拍攝團(tuán)隊(duì)在某一期調(diào)查醫(yī)療事故的過(guò)程中了解到的情況。他提出的一條建議是，醫(yī)生們應(yīng)該多開(kāi)非注冊(cè)商標(biāo)的藥品，而非品牌藥。

“節(jié)目取得如此大的成功，我感到非常高興和自豪，同時(shí)也受寵若驚?！卑⒚谞栒f(shuō)。他在2013年4月被《時(shí)代周刊》評(píng)為全球最有影響力的一百個(gè)人物之一，并成為該雜志亞洲版的封面人物。

雖然阿米爾顯而易見(jiàn)地為節(jié)目的收視率感到高興，但這位每年推出一部新片的明星卻平靜地表示：“我對(duì)收視率不感興趣。我在意的是發(fā)生實(shí)實(shí)在在的變化，各地政府做出反應(yīng)，拉賈斯坦邦的醫(yī)生們聯(lián)合起來(lái)呼吁那些步入歧途的同行做出改變……這才是我想要著手做的事。讓我感到興奮的是它能產(chǎn)生如此大范圍的影響。

“不過(guò)，看到周圍這么多人的態(tài)度發(fā)生變化是件很美妙的事。我認(rèn)為這檔節(jié)目最大的成就之一是它鼓勵(lì)人們公開(kāi)討論一些其他情況下我們不會(huì)談?wù)摰脑掝}，一些我們覺(jué)得公開(kāi)談?wù)摃?huì)非常不自在的話題?！?/p>

他的節(jié)目在真實(shí)反映困擾印度社會(huì)的一些痼疾的同時(shí)，也呈現(xiàn)了一些體現(xiàn)人們堅(jiān)忍精神的動(dòng)人故事：一名在街邊賣菜的小販由于村里缺醫(yī)少藥而失去丈夫，但卻拿出自己的全部積蓄建立了一所醫(yī)院，為患者提供免費(fèi)治療;一對(duì)夫婦在目睹了2001年庫(kù)奇地震的景象后難過(guò)不已，決定收容56個(gè)孩子，照顧他們，將他們視如己出……

“我希望同時(shí)呈現(xiàn)帶給人希望的故事?！卑⒚谞栒f(shuō)。

不過(guò)，制作與社會(huì)現(xiàn)實(shí)相關(guān)的節(jié)目并非阿米爾唯一的強(qiáng)項(xiàng)。在證明自己能拍出《印度往事》《地球上的星星》等既有思想又票房大賣的電影的同時(shí)，他也不反對(duì)出演如最近上映的《幻影車神：魔盜激情》這類粗制的商業(yè)長(zhǎng)片。“我決定出演《幻影車神：魔盜激情》是因?yàn)槲蚁矚g這個(gè)劇本，它讓我感到興奮?！?/p>

雖然阿米爾早在1973年就在叔叔納西爾·侯賽因?qū)а莸挠捌队洃浀挠楷F(xiàn)》中作為童星出道了，但由他主演的第一部獲得票房成功的電影卻是1988年上映的大受歡迎的熱門影片《冷暖人間》。該片為他贏得了最佳新人男演員獎(jiǎng)。拍片邀約很快便紛至沓來(lái)，沒(méi)過(guò)多久，身高只有1.68米的阿米爾就被冠以了“印度的湯姆·漢克斯”稱號(hào)。

但是，他很快就明確表示了自己在角色選擇上的挑剔?！袄^《冷暖人間》之后，我接拍了很多電影，但其中有些我很不喜歡。因此，在我職業(yè)生涯很早期的時(shí)候，大約是在90年代初，我就決定不會(huì)再做任何自己不喜歡做的事。我只想拍那些我完全信服的電影?！卑⒚谞栒f(shuō)。他于2003年被授予印度第四級(jí)公民榮譽(yù)獎(jiǎng)——蓮花士勛章，作為對(duì)其藝術(shù)貢獻(xiàn)的表彰。

這一策略取得了成效，他的電影不僅收獲了眾多獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)，也獲得了商業(yè)上的成功——這種事在寶萊塢頗為罕見(jiàn)，因?yàn)檫@里的影片往往無(wú)法既叫好又叫座。

阿米爾以偏愛(ài)選擇帶有強(qiáng)烈社會(huì)寓意的影片而聞名：比如《地球上的星星》，影片突出表現(xiàn)了那些有特殊需要的孩子在社會(huì)中面對(duì)的問(wèn)題;還有《三傻大鬧寶萊塢》，影片含蓄而富于幽默地揭示了印度教育體系的不足之處。雖然如此，但阿米爾指出，他同樣演過(guò)社會(huì)寓意不那么強(qiáng)的影片。

“我并不總是在尋找有寓意的影片。實(shí)際上，我的一些影片本身沒(méi)有什么社會(huì)寓意，例如《德里 ? 事》《為愛(ài)毀滅》和《未知死亡》。這些影片圍繞著強(qiáng)烈的情感展開(kāi)。我要找的是那些讓我興奮、能打動(dòng)我的情節(jié)。”

他說(shuō)，參與《真相訪談》的工作是一次引人入勝、開(kāi)闊思維的經(jīng)歷。“對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，這段經(jīng)歷令人興奮，也特別讓人動(dòng)感情。這還是一場(chǎng)發(fā)現(xiàn)之旅，我覺(jué)得我現(xiàn)在更了解自己的同胞了?！?/p>

阿米爾的主持風(fēng)格輕松、隨和，他讓訪談對(duì)象講述自己的故事，他也不怕在鏡頭前流露自己的真情實(shí)感，這讓這檔節(jié)目越發(fā)具有吸引力。

“我是個(gè)容易動(dòng)感情的人，很容易掉眼淚。”這位明星承認(rèn)道。

“我不覺(jué)得應(yīng)該隱藏自己的情感，”他說(shuō)，“高興時(shí)我會(huì)笑，傷心時(shí)我會(huì)哭。有時(shí)我看一部感人的電影也會(huì)流淚。”

雖然阿米爾主演了票房大片《幻影車神：魔盜激情》，但他表示，是他的電視節(jié)目“豐富了我的人生，無(wú)論我為節(jié)目付出了什么，它都回報(bào)了我十倍。能夠參與其中，我感到非常幸運(yùn)”。

“我更了解自己的國(guó)家了。我有幸見(jiàn)到了一些最了不起的人，他們也許表面上看似荏弱無(wú)力，實(shí)際上卻是巨人。有些人雖然可能沒(méi)有受過(guò)教育，但他們擁有的人格力量簡(jiǎn)直不同凡響。有些人即使面對(duì)貧窮和困境依然表現(xiàn)出極大的勇氣，我有時(shí)不禁自問(wèn)我能否做到像他們一樣勇敢，盡管我在物質(zhì)上更為富足?！?/p>

他是否認(rèn)為最近以來(lái)人們?cè)谡魏蜕鐣?huì)問(wèn)題上變得更有責(zé)任心了？

“那是肯定的，”他說(shuō)，“實(shí)際上，我在拍攝《真相訪談》的第一季時(shí)就意識(shí)到，人們已經(jīng)為政治變革做好了準(zhǔn)備。

“觀眾對(duì)節(jié)目的反響很熱烈。這讓我感覺(jué)事情正在發(fā)生切實(shí)的轉(zhuǎn)變。民眾有改變的渴望，只是不知道應(yīng)該怎么做。他們只是需要引導(dǎo)。

“在德里強(qiáng)奸案期間，有那么多人走上街頭，這一事實(shí)本身就說(shuō)明人們準(zhǔn)備好了要采取行動(dòng)，做出改變。人們?cè)敢饧尤胫卫淼男辛校瑓⑴c到這場(chǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)中來(lái)，對(duì)此我感到很高興?！?/p>

那么，他認(rèn)為自己是印度的救星嗎？

“我沒(méi)把自己看做什么救星，”他說(shuō)，“我認(rèn)為自己就是努力地去了解，這是我的一段個(gè)人旅程，一段使我的人生變得更加豐富的旅程，一段讓我在沿途對(duì)我們的國(guó)家、對(duì)我們共同面對(duì)的問(wèn)題、對(duì)影響我們社會(huì)的問(wèn)題增進(jìn)了解的旅程。

“在了解這些事情的過(guò)程中，我也希望和人們一起分享。我做的就是這些?！?/p>

他有什么遺憾嗎？

沒(méi)有，阿米爾說(shuō)?！拔业哪承╇娪耙苍S拍得不好，但我從中學(xué)到了東西。我把自己的失敗看得同成功一樣重要?！?p>

《真相訪談》節(jié)目畫面①②③④

1. fetus [?fi?t?s] n. 胎;胎兒

2. caste [kɑ?st] n. （印度社會(huì)的）種姓;種姓地位

3. dog [d?ɡ] vt. 困擾;折磨;使苦惱

4. diminutive [d??m?nj?t?v] adj. 小的，小型的

5. harrowing [?h?r????] adj. 使人痛苦的，折磨人的

6. heartrending [?hɑ?（r）t?rend??] adj. 令人心碎的，使人悲痛的

7. fortitude [?f??（r）t?tju?d] n. 堅(jiān)忍，剛毅

8. strike a chord：觸動(dòng)心弦，引起共鳴

9. echelon [?e??l?n] n. 領(lǐng)導(dǎo)（或指揮）系統(tǒng)中的等級(jí)，階層

10. stringent [?str?nd?（?）nt] adj. 嚴(yán)格的;嚴(yán)厲的

11. foeticide [?fi?t?sa?d] n. 殺胎;（非法）墮胎

12. come down on：抨擊;懲罰

13. subsidise [?s?bs?da?z] vt. 給……津貼（或補(bǔ)貼）;補(bǔ)助，資助

14. generic [d???ner?k] adj. 非商標(biāo)的;非專利的

15. nonchalantly [?n?n?（?）l?ntli] adv. 冷淡地;不激動(dòng)地

16. errant [?er?nt] adj. 離開(kāi)正道的，迷途的

17. forte [?f??（r）te?] n. 特長(zhǎng)，專長(zhǎng)

18. cash register：現(xiàn)金出納機(jī)

19. potboiler [?p?t?b??l?（r）] n. （以糊口為目的而作的）粗制文藝作品

20. runaway [?r?n??we?] adj. 遙遙領(lǐng)先的;巨大的，壓倒性的

21. Padma Shri：蓮花士勛章，是印度政府頒發(fā)的第四級(jí)公民榮譽(yù)獎(jiǎng)，授予在藝術(shù)、教育、工業(yè)、文學(xué)、科學(xué)、體育、醫(yī)藥、社會(huì)服務(wù)和公共生活等領(lǐng)域?yàn)橛《茸龀鼋艹鲐暙I(xiàn)的人物。

22. penchant [?p???ɑ?n] n. 強(qiáng)烈（或特別）的傾向，偏向

23. on the face of it：從表面判斷，乍看起來(lái)

24. Delhi rape case：德里強(qiáng)奸案。2012年12月，印度一名女大學(xué)生在新德里一輛“黑公交”上慘遭六名歹徒輪奸，震驚印度全國(guó)，引發(fā)了全國(guó)性的示威活動(dòng)。