Aamir wants to take off

Indo-Asian News Service Wednesday, January 23, 2008: (New Delhi): Bollywood actor-turned-director Aamir Khan, whose directorial debut Taare Zameen Par has become a box-office hit, says that he is extremely tired and badly needs to unwind himself. "My God! The past few months have been quite a ride. And the last month the most exciting, nerve racking, exhausting, rejuvenating, draining, enriching. Am I ever going to recover?" Aamir noted in his blog at www.aamirkhan.com this week. "I feel like I've been stuffed into a washing machine, which doesn't have an off button. After this I really need to be put out to dry in the sun and left alone. But no such luck. I start shooting for Ghajini on January 22," he penned. Hence, the multifaceted actor would take "baby steps" towards recovery. "First things first... I have just smoked my last cigarette before sending this post. Yes, I have finally kicked the bad habit! I know I know I can already hear all of you all scream and shout. I was supposed to give up on December 31. But I didn't (which is one of the reasons I was avoiding posting). I tried my best... but I am sorry I couldn't then... but I have now... so please don't give me grief... instead support me now. Second step: get back to sleeping early. Third: work out religiously.Fourth: get back on my healthy diet. Fifth: just stick to the above four for a while before taking the fifth step," he explained. And while the actor shoots for Ghajini his to-do list includes: Work on the DVD of Taare..., work on the release plan of Jaane Tu..., Aamir Khan Production's next release, supervise preparations on Delhi Belly, which starts shoot in March. "Start preparation work on the other one that Aamir Khan Production is producing later this year yet untitled. Make innovations and progress on this site. Clean my study and my cupboard. So much junk has piled up in my rooms. Everyday I look at the mess and promise myself I'll get down to it at some point," he writes. Overwhelmed by the Indian cricket team's historic win in Australia last week, Aamir, a sports buff, said the victory tastes sweeter after beating an "arrogant" team. "In the meantime let us celebrate India's win over Australia. What a glorious win! Sweet and well deserved. We would have won the earlier test as well had it not been for remarkably bad luck with the umpiring. The victory is the more satisfying because we beat a team, which is unfortunately very arrogant and decidedly badly behaved on the cricket field. My sincere apologies to any fans of Australian cricket but I fail to understand why arguably the best team in the world has to behave so badly on the field. Or why this team feels the need to use excessively aggressive heckling to try and win a match. Can't they just play better?" Incidentally, Aamir, a more-than-decent tennis player and admirer of Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, said that cricketers must take a lesson from tennis players. "I don't see Federer or (Andy) Roddick misbehaving with each other or anyone. I wish the Indian team didn't get influenced by the childish display and respond in kind. We should just quietly play better and win... or lose, as the case may be. But play with dignity," he wrote.