While the whole nation was celebrating the Republic Day, Aamir Khan decided to celebrate it in his own style. He celebrated the Republic Day with the washermen community in Mumbai. It was almost like a promotion of his movie Dhobi Ghat produced by him and directed by his wife Kiran Rao. Dhobi Ghat is Kiran Rao’s debut directorial venture. With the limited screening of Dhobi Ghat, mostly in multiplexes alone, business is more than expected, says a source. The movie also won critical acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival.
Aamir hoisted the Indian National Flag, at the Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat marking the Republic Day. Some source says that this move could be a way of reaching out to the washermen, who earlier had objected to the film because they found the term, “Dhobi” in the title offensive. Aamir apologized for hurting their sentiments and was even ready to change the title of the film. Later, the Akhil Bharatiya Dhobi Mahasangh let them keep the title intact because they realized that the film was about the place in Mumbai and did not present the community in a bad way. Further, they did not want Aamir to suffer losses. The film released in India on the 21st January 2011 and so far the film has received mixed responses. While many things about the film, like its subject, the way it has captured the different moods of Mumbai and so on have been appreciated, some others have felt that the film was too slow and Aamir was uncomfortable in his role. While some critics saw melancholy and poetry in its subject, some felt that the script was an aimlessly drifting one. The film stars late Smita Patil and Raj Babbar's son Prateik Babbar, along with Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra.
