Aamir Khan’s GQ cover photo

Aamir Khan is on the cover of GQ magazine’s December 2008 edition.

Aamir Khan's GQ cover photo. Pic credit: GQ

Timed perfectly with the release of his upcoming film, Ghajini, the December 2008 edition of GQ India carried an interview with Aamir Khan, conducted by contributing editor Karan Johar. The intro line on the cover says Aamir: On why divorce was good for him and why maybe he should keep his mouth shut.

Che Kurian, editor of GQ India, said, “Aamir Khan doesn’t appear on many magazine covers. The fact that he has chosen to work with GQ is a testament to the magazine’s 50-year old reputation as a publication featuring and read by intelligent, successful men.”

Meanwhile, the sexy Jiah Khan, who also stars in Ghajini along with Aamir Khan and Asin, has also appeared on the cover of Maxim India’s December 2008 edition.

Knowing Aamir Khan‘s marketing skills, he must have given the association much thought, and a major reason for giving the interview would be publicity for his movie Ghajini. Not that he needs to do much for publicity.

There is nothing in terms of marketing initiatives that have not been covered for Ghajini, be it the teaser trailers, photos of his new look(s), and, of course, internet marketing. We were one of the first to do a story on Aamir’s marketing abilities just after he started his Lagaan blog.

Aamir has been sweetening the media for some time now. In 2007, Aamir apologized to the media and said that he would now be more amenable in the future. For a long time, Aamir Khan has been in a cold war with the media right after Rangeela, when the fall-out between Ram Gopal Varma and Aamir Khan became a source of intense media speculation. After the debacle of Mela, Aamir Khan was written off by the press. It was only after the success of Lagaan that Aamir’s relationship with the press improved.

For Ghajini, Aamir has added a section for the press where mediapersons can upload their photographs and details, which will help Aamir place the journalists when he meets them. Aamir Khan will also add personal notes to each journo, and provide an information kit to those who register on the official website of Ghajini.

With the kind of money ploughed into the movie’s publicity, Aamir Khan should be able to capture a remarkable opening for Ghajini, when it is released on December 25, 2008.

Ghajini is written and directed by AR Murugadass who also directed the Tamil remake of Memento. Asin, who starred in the Tamil movie,  is part of the Hindi version along with actress Jiah Khan.

Ghajini was initially scheduled to be released on Diwali, on October 28, 2008  but was postponed to December 25, 2008, due to Aamir’s leg injury.