Aamir and Kiran to the rescue

With his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par being declared a smash hit, Aamir Khan has already proven that he’s a director to reckon with.

The Bollywood star, however, offered to take a step back and don the mantle of the first AD (assistant director) to bail out good friend and filmmaker Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra from a crisis recently.

It so happened that while shooting for Dilli 6 — starring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor — Mehra was left in the lurch when his first AD had to fly back home to US urgently. Reveals an insider, “The first AD is critical on the sets and it was a serious setback for the unit. Mehra was in a fix as the schedule was already underway. He shared this with Aamir who immediately volunteered to come and help.”

But though Aamir was keen to fly down to Jaipur to assist Mehra, he could not take any time out as he got caught up in the shooting of Ghajini , and his absence would upset the entire schedule of the film.

Confirming this, Mehra says, “Aamir wanted to help himself, but then suggested that his wife Kiran Rao (who had previously worked as an assistant to Ashutosh Gowariker) would come.”

Aamir adds, “Rakeysh is a very dear friend and my first instinct was to go and assist him. I began my career as an assistant director and I quite enjoyed my role. But unfortunately, I couldn’t go.” Incidentally, Aamir had offered to help knowing that the movie had Bachchan Jr in the lead.

“Considering Aamir’s recent equation with the Bachchans, it was a very sweet gesture,” insists an insider. Talking about Kiran as the AD, Mehra says, “She was a great help on the sets. She is a thorough professional and very sincere at work.”