Actor, film producer, social activist…Aamir Khan wears multiple hats. So which role gives him the greatest joy?

“I get the greatest fun and enjoyment when I am part of problem solving. It may be part of a film, it may be a social issue or it may be any small problem,” responds the actor, who devotes considerable time to his Paani Foundation that is working to address the problem of severe water shortage across Maharashtra and improve the lives of small farmers.

India has a million problems – so why did the actor, who discussed a lot of social issues in his TV chat show Satyamev Jayate choose water? “Water is a foundational problem. It is a basic requirement. We need water for everything,” is his forceful reply.

Khan was in Delhi for Dialogues on Development Management (DoDM), a conference on management for sustainable social change organised by the Indian School of Development Management. NGOs of all hues, from all over the country, were in force at the event which kicked off with Khan’s plenary session with Amit Chandra, Founder A.T.E. Chandra Foundation and Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO Paani Foundation. Ably steered by Chandra, the two described how communication and creating a people’s movement had a huge role to play in the impact created by Paani Foundation.

Later, in an exclusive chat with Businessline, the actor draped in a richly embroidered velvety shawl (gifted by his sister, he said) dived deeper into the work done by Paani Foundation set up in 2016 by him and his ex wife Kiran Rao.

Making an impact

How soon did the Foundation begin to make impact? “Oh, in the first year itself,” he says. “It was an audacious experiment and we got people excited without offering any money, only knowledge and training. As communicators, we encouraged and inspired,” he said pointing to how each village sent people for training and adopted the watershed development plans with gusto creating water capacities.

So what is the current situation? Is it ready to scale and take to other states? “No,” is the surprising answer. “After working for four years in developing water capacities and creating supply, we realised that the villagers were not trained in how to use water. When water arrived, they started growing the same old sugarcane, taking us back to square one. We realised then that we needed to train people in agriculture too. Now we are going deeper into that and looking at making it economically viable for small farmers. Then there is the market to crack too. Once we crack all these pieces, we will have a viable model in place. We are still only a half way through.”

Digital tools

Khan also said that the Foundation was working on an app and digital tools to reach more people.

So how much time does the actor take out for Paani Foundation? “In the first four years, he gave no less than one third of his entire working time to Paani foundation,” responds Bhatkal. “Aamir and Kiran travelled extensively and to the remotest villages in Maharashtra. Now in this phase, when we are working with farmer producer organisations, that much of his time is not required.”

Ask Khan what he learnt from his interactions with villagers, and he says one learning was that there is a lot of hope in people. “The other big learning is that if you put your heart into something, you can achieve the impossible. But the biggest learning is that when you interact with people with respect and love, then that dynamically changes whatever you are doing.”

Given the way he has created a people’s movement, any lessons on leadership for India Inc? “None. Leadership is nothing but common sense,” retorts Khan.