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SWOT for Aamir Khan: Identifying the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats for Mr. Perfectionist
Decoding Aamir Khan. The analysis of his superstardom, his probable shortfalls, the opportunity that looms in the market and the threats that can pull him down. Pinkvilla discusses
Over the years, SWOT analysis has been conventionally used to identify and analyze the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats of an organization in the business world. It is among the most accepted principals, alongside PESTLE analysis, used in making a holistic business decision by the stakeholders. As a method, SWOT can be applied in all mediums of work, and in a first, we at Pinkvilla now bring this methodology to application for the top male and female stars of Bollywood. We take this segment forward with Aamir Khan, and here’s decoding the factors that have worked in favour of, gone against as also, the opportunities waiting to be explored by bypassing the threats for Mr. Perfectionist.
Strength
Script Selection
In products it’s ISI (Indian Standard Institute) mark, in Films it’s ASI (Aamir Standard Institute) mark. Aamir stands for Midas touch, and seldom does his script selection go wrong. In-fact, from 2006 till 2021, he has gone horribly wrong in just one film – Thugs of Hindostan. To put it statistically, he has acted in 10 films – Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Talaash, Dhoom 3, PK, Dangal, Secret Superstar and Thugs of Hindostan - of which, just one has been panned by the audience. According to insiders, Aamir was aware about the outcome of TOH much before it’s release, and had suggested the makers to reshoot and delay the release of the film, but, the makers didn't agree, and as they say, the rest is history. The actor stands for quality cinema and this in itself has enabled him to break records one after the other with every passing films. The audience resonate Aamir with cinema that would live for ages to come, and this is a commendable feet in today’s time. Basically, no one can doubt Aamir’s script selection, and the ability to understand pulse of the audience. This is the reason why he has delivered as many as 5 All Time Grossers, which is higher than every actor in history of Bollywood.
China
The fan following of Aamir in China is comparable to the biggest superstars of the globe. He is the only Indian star to have a loyal fan base in China and this gives him an edge over the rest of Bollywood when it comes to fan following abroad. His following in China is probably bigger than that of entire Indian film industry put together, and this will always give him a upper hand even in terms of the box-office collections. Today, it’s only Aamir Khan whose films have to potential of bringing in at-least 100 million from the box-office in overseas belt. If he has a release every year from now, the day isn’t far when top 5 all time grossers in overseas belt belong to Aamir Khan by a distance. The Chinese market and the revenue from there has also given him the levy to up the budget of his films, giving them the wings to fly and make cinema at unheard budgets. The more he explores the Chinese market, the bigger global star will he become in the days to follow. And this can be his biggest strength to explore cinema like never before.
Today, it’s only Aamir Khan whose films have to potential of bringing in at-least 100 million from the box-office abroad. If he has a release every year from now, the day isn’t far when top 5 all time grossers in overseas belt belong to Aamir Khan by a distance
Social Media
Social media always leads to overexposure and Aamir quitting social media is a master stroke. He has not made himself accessible to the audience at their finger-tips, creating an intrigue around his personality. One needs to buy a ticket to watch Aamir Khan in action, isn’t that what an actor is meant to do? The youth of today’s time need to learn from Aamir to avoid overexposure and use rather smarter means to build an intrigue around their films, and character.
Weakness
Long Gaps
The biggest weakness of Aamir Khan is the long gap. While he has always lived onto the anticipation created by the gaps, a Thugs of Hindostan like scenario can be a party pooper and ruin the average. While Dangal was the last All Time Grosser of Bollywood, it has been five years since the release of the film, basically, five years, since Aamir delivered a hit film at the Indian Box Office. It all means, it has been five years since Aamir has delivered a good film at the BO. Basically, the long gaps leave very little scope for error. It’s the long gaps that has also made the media averse of positioning him as one of the biggest crowd pullers of Indian cinema, when the stats suggest that he is indeed among the biggest of all. Basically, he falls behind in the perception race, and one has to dig into the facts to prove otherwise. One film a year is a good formula for Aamir, but when that gap elevates to one film every two year, the strike rate goes for a toss. Hopefully, we would get to see one Aamir Khan film in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively with Laal Singh Chaddha, Campeones Adaptation and Mogul, making up for the rather slow pace post Dangal.
Opportunities
Goodwill
Aamir’s goodwill is such that if it’s Aamir Khan, it ought to be good. And what better opportunity than that? With great power comes great responsibility, and the goodwill is something that would stay with Aamir for lifetime. While his contemporaries have a set image among the audience, which at times curtails them from taking the risks in terms of genres, Aamir is devoid of a pre-set image, giving him the opportunity to explore and ace in every particular role. The audience won’t expect action or romance or comedy in his films, they would just expect a good film, in any space, which gives him the bigger scope of selecting stories based on merit and not genre, for his target audience. Today, Aamir can play any role, ranging from a father to grandfather, from a fit guy to someone who is on the heavier side, and the audience will accept him with open arms. Basically, he can be the chameleon. People prefer to know Aamir for his work and not what he does in the personal space Well, he is among those rare personalities of Bollywood, who has turned a superstar because of his work, and acting talent, irrespective of the off-screen image.
Hopefully, we would get to see one Aamir Khan film in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively with Laal Singh Chaddha, Campeones Adaptation and Mogul, making up for the rather slow pace post Dangal.
Threats
Age
Aamir is 56 years old, and its just some more years as a leading hero for him, before settling for the character actor roles. For all the 50 plus actors, every year as a leading hero is a bonus as Bollywood has conventionally resulted in shift of tide for 50 plus superstars. While the Khan’s and Kumar and Devgn continues as leading heroes, what separates Aamir from them is his pace of working. Probably he can fasten his process, as the audience want to see more of him, before taking a backseat to character driven roles. While Aamir is a chameleon and can continue to be the leading hero even in the aged characters, by breaking all pre-set norms, we are going with what the history has, and hope for him to do many more films, as age is like a ticking time bomb.
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