General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Aamir

Aamir is a 2008 Hindi-language thriller film directed by Rajkumar Gupta, in which Dr. Aamir Ali, a Muslim doctor of Indian origin returning to Mumbai from London, is forced at threat to his family to participate in a terrorist plot.¹ It marked the directorial debut of Gupta and the Hindi film debut of television actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who plays the title role.²^•³ The film was released in India on 6 June 2008 under UTV Spotboy, a new banner of the studio UTV.⁴^•⁵

Key fact	Detail
Release	6 June 2008 (India)⁴
Director and writer	Rajkumar Gupta, his debut film, story, screenplay and dialogue¹
Lead	Rajeev Khandelwal as Dr. Aamir Ali¹
Producers	Ronnie Screwvala, Anurag Kashyap, Deven Khote, and Zarine Mehta, under the UTV Spotboy banner⁴
Music	Amit Trivedi; lyrics by Amitabh Verma⁴
Runtime	99 minutes⁶
Box office	$831,931 worldwide⁷
Recognition	Three 2009 nominations for Rajeev Khandelwal: Filmfare Best Debut Actor, Stardust Jury's Choice Best Actor, and Screen Most Promising Debut Actor⁸

Spoilers

Plot and themes

The premise follows Aamir Ali, a doctor who lands in Mumbai after obtaining his medical degree in England, expecting his family to meet him at the airport. When no one appears, a faceless voice leads him through Muslim-dominated areas of the city and threatens to kill his family unless he delivers a red briefcase to its destination.³ The Times of India's review describes the film's central bind: Aamir's name makes him vulnerable to racial profiling, while his secular credentials make him a target for fundamentalists within his own community, and his final choice between the two determines his future ideology.³

Gupta framed the story in non-communal terms. In a 2008 interview he said he thought of the film as "the story of a common man and his dilemma and the troubled times that we live in," adding that it "could be about any religion, any common man and his situation."⁹ A Hindustan Times profile describes the film as set in the seamier side of Mumbai, narrated in a "stream of consciousness" style, and exploring ideological extremes through its two leading men: "one says you believe what is being told to you and the other says I will only believe what I see."²

Production

The director. Rajkumar Gupta was born and brought up in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, the son of a banker, and graduated from Delhi University before taking a course in film and television at St. Xavier's in Mumbai. He began his career assisting Anurag Kashyap on Black Friday and No Smoking, and was 30 years old when Aamir released.² In a later Hindi-language interview he recalled that he had decided to work only with a corporate house so that the film would be properly handled after completion, that an independent producer came aboard in 2007, and that UTV Spotboy then took the project, with Kashyap serving as creative producer.¹⁰

Crew and cast. The film was shot by cinematographer Alphonse Roy, edited by Aarti Bajaj, and designed by production designer Wasiq Khan, with music composed by Amit Trivedi and lyrics by Amitabh Verma.⁴^•¹ Khandelwal, known until then for the television series Kahiin to Hoga (2003), played the title role.¹ The supporting cast includes Aishwarya Bhaskaran as Falak, Gajraj Rao as the man on the cellphone, Rohitashv Gaur as a customs officer at the airport, Vasan Bala as the messenger at the airport, and Shashanka Ghosh; the film lists 19 cast members in total.⁶^•¹

Reception

The film received favorable critical notices on release. The Times of India gave it 3.5 out of 5, calling it "a surprise package with its thrilling pace, it's smart direction and its meaningful script" and praising Khandelwal's "riveting switch from the small screen to the big screen."³ BollySpice wrote that the film had no star name, no leading lady in conventional glamorous dress, and no flashy promotion, and that its script and performances made it "a rock solid, well-made film."⁵ Hindustan Times reported that the debut film had been "getting rave reviews since its release last week."²

At the 2009 award season, Khandelwal earned three nominations for his debut performance: the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Actor, the Stardust Jury's Choice Award for Best Actor, and the Screen Award for Most Promising Debut Actor.⁸ On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.6 from about 12,000 votes.¹¹

Commercial performance and availability

Box Office Mojo records a worldwide gross of $831,931, all from international markets, with the earliest release date of 6 June 2008 in India.⁷ Kinopoisk lists a production budget of ₹50,000,000.¹² The film runs 99 minutes and is currently available for streaming in India on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Prime Video with Ads.¹¹

Legacy

Sixteen years after release, Khandelwal recalled in a 2024 interview that producer Anurag Kashyap had "went from one producer to another" while trying to get the film made.¹³ Gupta went on to direct further films, and in the same Hindi interview noted that audiences came to his third film expecting another Aamir-style social thriller and found something considerably different.¹⁰ A retrospective blog review described the film as "an effective portrayal of the sordid and grimy underbelly of a metropolis, Mumbai in this case."¹⁴

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Action and thriller films

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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